Ezequiel Garay. They don’t speak his name without genuflecting in dark corners of spurious forums.
They don’t speak his name without linking him to Manchester United – not in the last nine or so years anyway.
Any fan of Football Manager – to be specific, Football Manager 2007 – will recall fondly the potential of one, Ezequiel Garay.
The Valencia centre half was only a teenager 10 years ago and if anybody had any sort of wit about them, the defender would be on top of their list to sign in the first summer with whatever team you took over. The man was lying around Racing Santander for God’s sake, he was crying out to be picked up and he was ready to go on to become one of the greatest centre backs of all time – that Football Manager ever saw.
He even had his own bloody thread dedicated to him and you could pick him up at ridiculous value.
And, naturally, whenever the topic of best centre backs in the game came up, Ezequiel Garay was always going to be mentioned.
You don’t recommend any old bum for any team if you don’t think he can cut it.
Well, the gossip columns are alive and kicking once more and Ezequiel Garay’s name is hopping from tweets to Facebook posts and Sky Sources are only a matter of time.
According to Valencia-based newspaper Super Deporte, Jose Mourinho is one of a number of managers looking to ‘swoop’ for the Argentine defender before the transfer window slams shut.
At the moment, Mourinho has just five recognised centre halves to work with and only Matteo Darmian, Daley Blind and Michael Carrick there for emergencies so another dip into the market seems to be the logical solution.
And who better than someone whose stats for determination, aggression, bravery, tackling and strength are all going to fill the guts of 20 Football Manager points each?
There’s not a lot of truth in this world but one thing we do know is that Manchester United and Jose Mourinho love a bit of spending. Time to turn more jerseys red.
United are going to have some squad next season#MUFC pic.twitter.com/GQXw3rFzAl
— Conán Doherty (@ConanDoherty) July 4, 2017
