Connect with us

Manchester United

Alexander Büttner Joins Manchester United On Five Year Contract

“Joining Manchester United is one of the best days of my life. It’s a team I have admired for many years now and I can’t wait to join my teammates and play my part in helping the club be successful.” said Alexander Büttner Utd’s new left back, after completing his medical and signing a five year contract with the club, which will see him there until 2017 for a reported fee of £3.9 million .

The question is should his arrival wet the appetite of the increasingly expectant United fan this season or is this a just future prospect for the club? and exactly who is this youngster?

The short answer to the first  question, Büttner is likely to be a rotation player this season, however, with Patrice Evra being the only natural left back at the club we could see Büttner get some game time in the EPL, very shortly. The good news for the supporters is he’s Dutch.  Alex Ferguson has always had an eye for spotting a good Dutch player, cast your mind back to the likes of Jaap Stam, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Edwin Van Der Sar all of whom have proved themselves as top class players during there time at Man Utd. Alexander Büttner along with  big money signing, Robin Van Persie could be the next two players in that list.

“Alexander is one of the best young left backs in Europe and we’re delighted to sign him. He’s someone we’ve been watching for a while now. He gives us some really exciting options in that position.” Said Sir Alex Ferguson on his new arrival.

In fact Büttner is somewhat a seasoned veteran in Dutch Football, although only 23 years of age he had already made 107 appearances for former club Vittese, who finished a respectable 7th place in the Eredivisie league last season. The man himself is described as a modern left back, who likes to use his pace and athleticism to run down the flanks down and create opportunities for his fellow strikers and team-mates. There maybe a question mark over his defensive mentally for the game but as with any young defender the key to his improvement will be minutes played on the pitch.

A likely candidate to help mentor the young Dutch man, will be the French left back Evra. With the wealth of experience Evra has at National and Club level, he would be the best option to help hasten Büttner’s progress not only in his chosen position but in terms of dealing with the pace and physicality of the EPL. This is not to say Utd’s new signing  lacks any self determenation, he will be itching to get his first cap for the Netherlands, although picked as part of the 36 players on the prelimanry squad for Euro 2012, he never got his chance but when signing for  a big club like Man Utd, it will only be a short time, before the attention of the world is cast on you and these opportunities start knocking at your door.

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

More in Manchester United