Manchester United launch bid for left-back

The Times have reported that Manchester United have made an offer for Everton's Leighton Baines.

While it's possible to give this a "David Moyes buys old players" spin, it shouldn't be forgotten that we'd been in for the left-back under Alex Ferguson's reign. The report is here, although you'll need a Times subscription to read it (I don't personally have one - I've been told "but it costs the same as half a pint a week!", to which my response is "yes, but so does half a pint a week.")

I'm not convinced Baines is the best option for the club - I think he lacks the athleticism required to play at the very highest level - but the suggested price in the report of £10-12m isn't too bad a deal. While I think the left-back position is a problem in the squad, I think there are other, more pressing matters, and we can probably get away with leaving it another season, particularly with the likes of Southampton's Luke Shaw and Swansea's Ben Davies around, who are both young and could end up being better options.

We'll see if this is true and if it develops much - at the moment, only The Times have run with it, so watch this space. I shall expand my thoughts on why I think Baines isn't the best we could do if this develops, but in the meantime, the picture I've chosen to go along with the story should hopefully give you a clue.