Radoslav Petrovic: The Real Deal!

My old drinking partner from civil war days at the Casa Grande Hotel in Sarajevo, the journo Stojko Milutinovic–a huge fan of United since seeing them play in Belgrade in 1966 as a little lad–has been emailing me for weeks explaining why the Gaffer should buy René Adler instead of Manuel Neuer. On Monday, however, Stojko had a new subject. United must beat out Spurs, A.C. Milan, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and favorites Fiorentina to sign the Serbian international midfielder Radoslav Petrovic.

The 6’ 4” tall Partizan Belgrade midfielder has been earning race reviews for his performances in the SuperLiga and Champions League, especially in a pair of sparkling displays against Arsenal. Extremely hard tackling and yet very dexterous on the ball with an eagle-eye for the long pass, ‘Raca’ (pronounced RA-CHA) loves to score from twenty to thirty yards out. For anyone old enough to remember, when I asked for a fair comparison of his skills and style, the 21-year-old was compared to the one and only Sredko Katenac. who starred along with Roberto Mancini in the 1989 Scudetto-winning Sampdoria team.

With 13 caps already under his belt for Serbia, Petrovic has recently pushed aside two other blooming defensive stars in Gojko Kacar and Milos Vinkevic. As I am already a dyed-in-the-wool fan of Kacar, who plays every game as if it’s the F.A. Cup final, this lad has to be good. An extremely cautious, conservative coach, Vladimir Petrovic described his young namesake to L’Equipeas having “antifreeze for blood.”

Sir Alex Ferguson has sent numerous Manchester United scouts out to Belgrade to watch Petrovic over the season and, clearly, he is serious because Jaap Stam, who has become one of his most trusted advisors on talent after the success of Javíer Hernandez, was flown in to watch Partizan’s derby game against Red Star in which Racha hit a stunning 20-yard rocket of a game winner. The same thing happened last year in the Serbian Cup final, Stojko tells me.

Originally valued at around £4 million, the Serbian youngster could be just what Spurs need as a superior alternative to the clever passing but tactically dense Tom Huddlestone and the yellow card-prone Wilson Palacios. At United, however, one would expect to find him slotting into the starting lineup from the get-go, a far superior alternative to an erratic, uncommitted Michael Carrick, freeing up Anderson and Darren Fletcher to move up the field or come in to games late as a physical presence.

There will, however, be a few problems for United if they get into negotiations with Partizan. The whole circus involving Adam Ljajic and Zoran ‘Bambi’ Tosic seems to not have upset the Partizan hierarchy–after all they got their money–so much as irritated Partizan fans. Extremely pragmatic, their money men, Branko Vucicovic, and their wily President, Dragan Duric, will be hard bargainers. The fans may not like it, but United will surely try to insert their savvy captain, Nemanja Vidic, into negotiations..

The bottom line, what with United’s stated interest in the injury-prone Steven Defour, Lassana Diarra, Jack Rodwell, Cheik Tiote, Yann M’Vila, Gojko Kacar, Moussa Sissoko, Paolo Henrique Ganso, Hernanes and Petrovic is clearly money. There is a glaring need for a quality defensive midfielder and a need for him to be mature beyond his years. The pundits have been slobbering over Ganso for years now. Tall and powerful, brilliant on You tube, the young Brazilian is bound to run a club willing to pay over the odds like Real Madrid or Manchester City upwards of £40M. That kind of dosh is no longer United’s style, it seems. And, if anything was learned from the purchase of Kleberson, it was that no one bought from South America comes with a guarantee. Looking at all those names, I would have to fancy M’Vila, Kacar or Petrovic as representing the best value for money. Will United sit tight or pull the trigger?

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Category: Manchester United