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Manchester United have had to wait for Edinson Cavani. They had to wait while he isolated himself after his arrival in the northwest. They had to wait while he worked on his fitness. And they had to wait while he put on his boots on the St. Mary’s touchline on Sunday.
But all the waiting has been worth it. The fact that Cavani wasn’t ready to go into the break was the kind of moment that seemed to sum up United after a disappointing opening 45 minutes on the South Coast. In the end, Jonathan Moss got tired of waiting for the 33-year-old to put his boots in order and get the second half going.
Full time that had long been forgotten. Cavani is unlikely to be introduced as a substitute for halftime again any time soon. You will need to be ready for kick-off from now on.
Doubts when United broke their transfer strategy of pursuing a younger transfer profile to lead the Uruguayan to a free transfer at the end of the summer window have quickly dissipated.
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Cavani scored his first goal for United very well, away at Everton, and then was impressive in his first start against Istanbul Baskasehir in the middle of the week. So impressive, in fact, that he was probably unlucky not to start against Southampton. That mistake was corrected with 2-0 down but thanks to the former Paris Saint-Germain striker the match did not end.
He created the goal from Bruno Fernandes that brought United back into the game before showing his enthusiasm for finishing home the Portuguese shot to tie. It was another brilliant center-forward run that sealed the win as Cavani looked at a header near the post from a Marcus Rashford cross.
When United signed Cavani in September, the club insisted they were still hungry to make an impact in the Premier League, that they didn’t see this as a last payday, but wanted to make their mark at Old Trafford. It could be another Zlatan Ibrahimovic, United officials said. More like another Falcao, he sighed critics of the deal after a disappointing transfer window.
However, a couple of months later, Cavani is already on his way to replicating Ibrahimovic’s impact at Old Trafford. United’s transfer window may not have been perfect, but this could be a very smart deal.
Both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Harry Maguire were enthusiastic about Cavani’s move after the game. Solskjaer celebrated the forward’s desire to play between the posts, while Maguire painted a picture of what it was like for a defender to play against that threat.
“His movement when the ball is wide is of a level that many forwards cannot reach, he is always in motion, he always crosses with people and that is why he always scores goals,” said the United captain. “It’s great for our forwards to learn from him in practice. He’s a nightmare to score in practice as well.”
That move was key to both of Cavani’s goals and after the week he’s had it seems inescapable for United right now, it’s simply a matter of who’s playing around him. His presence also gives Fernandes another target to aim at and United another dimension to their game, with a forward likely to stay on the edge of the penalty area, rather than blast his way as Rashford and Anthony Martial do so far. often.
After 304 goals in 439 matches for Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain, Cavani’s quality was never in doubt, but like Ibrahimovic before him, he was often underestimated by the national audience because he had rarely done so against a team. of the Premier League in Europe.
Ibrahimovic’s response to that was to come and show the Premier League what they were missing. It looks like Cavani could be taking a similar approach.
Its quality has never really been questioned. If he fit into this United team and if he had the motivation to commit to what seems like a longer-term project, they were the real unknowns about this transfer. Consider those answered questions now. Cavani could be just what United needed.
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