Rumours that a transfer request had been handed in to Manchester United by their French winger Gabriel Obertan were rubbished by his agent today, who insisted that Obertan is happy at Manchester United and no transfer request had been handed in at any time.
Obertan, who was brought in by Sir Alex Ferguson in July 2009 – a £3 million buy from French club Bordeaux, was rumoured to have come to the conclusion that he is not good enough to make the grade at Old Trafford. He has not had a lot of pitch time in his short stay at the club, but this is to be expected from a player that was relatively unknown in the English Premier League at the time of his aquisition.
Obertan’s representative, Karim Djaziri, claimed the Frenchman has not handed in a transfer request and is happy to stay at Old Trafford:
“I have read that Gabriel has handed in a transfer request, but no he has not done this. He is very happy at Manchester United and he doesn’t want to leave.
Obertan was signed and unveiled along with Antonio Valencia, who came from Wigan, and although Valencia is currently out injured (but soon to return), the Ecuadorian winger is one of a few players whom fight for a place on the wings. Obertan should be taking tips from players such as Nani, Ryan Giggs and Antonia Valencia, in the hope that he can learn how to become an accomplished wing man. It seems his representative acknowledges this:
“He is still learning and he knows he is not ready to be a regular starter in the team, but he is working hard to be a member of the first team.”
It is true that Obertan hasn’t set United alight, and his career in Manchester hasn’t really taken off yet, but at the young age of 21, and still quite inexperienced in English football, the Frenchman has much to learn, and has plenty of time to learn it. Who and where better to learn his trade than under the wing of Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs, who knows what it is like to be coming up through the United ranks?
Obertan has scored only one goal in the first team for United, which was in a Champions League game against Bursaspor, but he has been impressive in the reserves, scoring a handful of quality goals which must have impressed Ferguson. Young players like this need a chance, and therefore must be patient and prepared to work hard to prove that he is good enough to make the grade at United, because at United, only the best will do.
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Submitted by DBSFootball
