Owen Hargreaves is one of the versatile midfielders in the world. Sir Alex Ferguson has been a keen admirer of the Englishman and tried to sign him (unsuccessfully) twice when he was at Bayern Munich. Hargreaves did finally come to Old Trafford but has not really been able to show his real class. The reason - his recurring tendonitis problem.
Hargreaves had not been seen in a United shirt since September 2008 following double knee surgery to cure a tendonitis problem. He made only a fleeting appearance when he returned to action for the final seconds of United's victory at Sunderland which was the 37th game of the season.
Owen Hargreaves' appearance on the field marked the completion of a long and frustrating journey for the midfielder. Its was great to see him back in action, but I wonder what role will he play next season.
The Red Devils clearly lacked some creativity in the midfield this season. Injuries to Hargreaves and Anderson kept them out of the game while Michael Carrick was not up to the mark this season. This left Scholes with a lot of work to do and he was occasionally supported by Fletcher, Giggs and O'Shea while our regular midfielders remained injured.
Sir Alex has been linked with a lot of central/defensive midfielders so far. I feel he'll bring on someone to act as back up for Hargreaves and as a long term replacement for Scholes.
So what role will Owen Hargreaves play next season?
The 29-year-old is delighted to be back and feels he has plenty left in the tank yet. He said,
I’ve missed two seasons and I’m disappointed about that. But I’m 29 and hopefully I’ve got another six to eight years left in me.
Being out for so long is obviously not something I would have envisaged myself going through. It’s been a learning experience and I try and take the positives from it and get ready to attack next season.
Hargreaves has been left out of Fabio Capello's squad for WC 2010 and that would give him enough time to rest. Hopefully, he should be able to play full 90 minutes during United's pre-season games. I think after watching his performances in those games, it will be easier to judge his role for the Red Devils next season. What do you think?
