Man United breaking the bank to sign this £36m Serie A ace would help Solskjaer solve right-wing conundrum

Douglas Costa would be the ideal January business for Man United

According to Daily Mail, Manchester United are interested in signing Douglas Costa in January. The 28-year-old Brazilian has fallen out of favour at Turin and the Daily Mail understands that the Red Devils want to make an audacious swoop for the right-winger to add substance to their misfiring attack.

Costa was a seasoned campaigner for Shakhtar Donetsk before making his switch to Bayern Munich in 2015 where he tasted commendable success, accumulating 14 goals and 27 assists from 27 appearances across all competitions.

The 28-year-old was loaned out to Juventus for the 2017-18 season where he made the headlines in the Serie A with 4 goals and 12 assists from 31 appearances. Juventus triggered his release clause of £36 million and signed him permanently at the end of the 2017-18 season.

However, the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Turin has pushed him down the pecking order at the club and his involvement has been restricted to only 3 starts in the Serie A this term.

Quite clearly, Costa cannot expect much first-team action with Ronaldo in the scheme of things and a move away from Turin would do him a world of good.

Costa, who was a part of Brazil’s 2018 World Cup squad, is primarily a right-winger by trade but he has also been used on the left and also through the centre as a playmaker. Standing at 5ft 8 inches, Costa might not look like a physically-imposing attacking midfielder but the Brazilian has good upper body strength, which allows him to drive past the full-backs with powerful runs.

The 28-year-old is a technically-gifted winger and he combines his sound technique with his low centre-of-gravity and silky dribbling skills to wreak havoc through the opposition’s defence.

Not only does he have blistering pace but his lightning acceleration coupled with his trickery and ability to change directions in the blink of an eye makes him a nemesis for the defenders.

Apart from his pace, dribbling and trickery, Costa is also known for his incredible vision and tactical awareness, creating space with sharp turns and unleashing that killer pass to play his teammates in behind the backline.

His ability to create space often allows the others to pull the strings in the final third. Furthermore, the Brazilian has a powerful left foot that is capable of finding the net from outside the box. Costa averaged 1.9 key passes, 1.2 shots, 3.4 dribbles,1 cross and 1.9 successful long balls per game in the Serie A last term, which speak volumes of his all-around ability as a wide playmaker.

To put things into perspective, Costa would be an ideal buy for United in January. United currently sit 6th in the standings, 8 points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and the Red Devils need more firepower up front to boost their chances of securing a Champions League spot.

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In fact, United have a left-heavy attack, with Juan Mata being the only player who is capable of playing as a wide-forward down the right in a 4-3-3 formation. Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are both better players when deployed on the left and Mata is at his best in a central playmaking role behind the striker.

That said, United should go all out to land the Brazilian in January as he would be the ideal man to solve their right-wing conundrum.