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The Manchester United fans reacted angrily in reply to the tweet posted by the official account of the club which confirmed Antonio Valencia’s contract extension. Many of the repliers were of the opinion that it was a bad move by the club management and they should have signed somebody else instead.

The supporters of the Red Devils have every right to be angry. They have been very patient with Valencia since the last 5 seasons. If the first few months of his Manchester United career are barred, the Ecuadorian has been a consistent flop at Old Trafford.

He has made quite a few excuses for his poor form in the last couple of seasons. At the end of the 2012-13 Season, he said that he should perhaps have not taken jersey no. 7 and that he would go with his old jersey number i.e. 25 in the next campaign.

But, even after changing his jersey number last season, there was no improvement in the winger’s performance. He made 29 league appearances, but, struck only on a couple of occasions.

He again had an excuse to make when the season got over.
According to him, the then manager of United, David Moyes, should have given him more playing time. While the truth was that Valencia himself was responsible for his pathetic display.

With the United squad all set to be rebuilt under Louis Van Gaal, people would not have imagined Valencia to be getting a contract extension. But, for some reason, it has happened.

Now, it would be really interesting to see how and in which position, the new boss use the Ecuadorian.

Valencia had signed for United in the summer of 2009 after leaving Wigan Athletic. The Red Devils had paid a transfer fee of over 16 million Pounds for buying him.

Incoming Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has a big summer ahead of him as he plots to take the fallen giants back to the top once again.

He is expected to be involved in a number of transfer activities once he takes up the job following the World Cup in Brazil with a number of players expected to come in as he looks to rebuild the side for his own. And with many players likely to leave the club, he has his task cut out, especially with the likes of Anderson and Ashley Young.

The Brazilian spent the second half of last season on loan at Italian club Fiorentina but reports suggest the Italians will not exercise their right to buy the player outright this summer, meaning the former Porto player will return to United.

And his form for the club as well as during the time he spent away from United will be a cause for concern with not many willing clubs eager to take on the underperforming player on board.

Once hailed as the next Ronaldinho, Anderson was signed by United boss Sir Alex Ferguson for a whopping £ 20 million when he was just twenty years old from the Portuguese side but in spite of winning several honors for the club, he has never really settled at the club with injuries and off form hampering his run in the side.

The Brazilian featured just four times for former manager David Moyes and had the Scotsman been around, he would surely have tried to get rid of him. But Louis van Gaal wants to play a waiting game and see what Anderson can do on the pitch before taking a decision on him.

Whatever happens, though, this is one story that will continue till the end of the summer.

Fiorentina had high hopes for Manchester United midfielder Anderson, who came to the club during the January transfer window on a loan deal till the end of the season. However, the midfielder has struggled in the last six months in Italy. This has prompted the club’s former striker Francesco Flachi to say that he is disappointed with the outcome of the Anderson transfer. He says that much was expected of them Brazilian when he made the move to the Italian outfit. However, it seems that Anderson has not fully recovered from the several injuries he suffered in the last two years at United.

He was one of the first-team regulars when he made the move from FC Porto in 2007. Despite being very young, he started in almost every match for the club. However, the last few years have been very tough after suffering several knee injuries. This also resulted in him losing his shape, which consequently reduced his form as well. After featuring rarely for United in the first half of the season, he was sent out on loan to Fiorentina. This move was widely seen as the end to his United career, as Fiorentina were looking for the possibility of making the move permanent.

After just seven appearances and no goals, they are unlikely to renew their interest in the player come the summer. “I’m sorry for Anderson, when he was at Manchester United I really liked him. Injuries have limited him; I would have expected more,” said Flachi. Despite this, Manchester United will have reasons to be positive about Anderson because he is just 26 years old. The club are expected to appoint Dutch boss Louis van Gaal, who is famous for getting players into shape. This may prove to be the decisive aspect for Anderson becoming a top player once again.