Gabriel Obertan: Manchester United to Beat Chelsea & Arsenal to French Wing Sensation
Manchester United are poised to sign Bordeaux winger Gabriel Obertan according to the French club’s president Jean-Louis Triaud. He told L’Equipe, “There is a very strong likelihood that the deal will go ahead.”
“Manchester United want to sign him and, for our part, we would be delighted to see Gabriel playing for such a prestigious club.
“We will make the official announcement when the time is right.”
This move has come as a surprise as the player has been strongly linked to Serie A as well as Arsenal in the past but Sir Alex Ferguson has now made his move. Obertain is primarily a winger but can also play up front and is renowned for his pace and trickery. At 6 ft 1 he has a similar physique to the departed Cristiano Ronaldo but he’s far from the finished article. In fact, he is not very experienced having only started 16 league matches in his short career.
However, Sir Alex has shown he can bring out the best in young players with raw talent as he begins to rebuild his squad with the added funds from the Ronaldo sale.
Obertan is another graduate from the famed Clairefontaine academy where he was spotted by Bordeaux. The young French star made his debut for the club aged 17 in 2006/07 making a total of seventeen league appearances (1 start) and scoring once.
The following season Obertan made a further 26 league appearances (6 starts) while scoring twice. He began the 2008/09 season with Bordeaux before being loaned out to Lorient. There were a number of clubs who wished to sign the youngster at home and abroad but instead he opted for Lorient.
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He said at the time, “I hesitated because I could also have stayed and bided my time at Bordeaux.”
“But I made the choice so that I can play more in a team with a real positive philosophy.
“Then, I will have to make a decisive decision. I will have five months before coming back to Bordeaux in which to make a name for myself.
“I have had talks with a lot of good coaches and I appreciated the words of Mr (Christian) Gourcuff (Lorient coach). He is a good coach and he has been following me for some time.”
The move to Lorient did not change the French star’s situation that much as he still only made 6 starts from his 15 league appearances while scoring once. However, this did not stop the queue of admirers. Chelsea have reportedly been scouting the player since 2007 while Real Madrid, Juventus and Arsenal have all been tracking the star.
Obertan has represented France at U16, U17, U18, U19 and U21 level. He is widely tipped to be a future full French international.
Would United fans be pleased to sign this precocious young talent ahead of the other reported admirers or would you prefer an established star? Let’s hear your views.
Tags: Arsenal, Bordeaux, Chelsea, France, Gabriel Obertan, Manchester United
July 6th, 2009 at 15:29
He is a great talent so wanna see him at united this season:)
July 7th, 2009 at 01:16
All i can say is, enjoy only playing once in a blue moon at United. Look at Welbeck, Fabio, Tosic, Nani etc. They were all dubbed the next best thing and look how they turned out. How many appearances did they get this season. All i know is that at Arsenal, you’ll shine and get more game time.