Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs says that players and staff are just as excited as the club's supporters following the arrival of former Arsenal captain Robin van Persie.
The Netherlands international completed his €30.5 million move to Old Trafford on Friday and joins ex-Crewe youngster Nick Powell and former Borussia Dortmund man Shinji Kagawa as the new arrivals at last season's Premier League runners-up.
And ahead of their opening game of the season, a meeting with Everton at Goodison Park on Monday, the Red Devils veteran enthused that the players are just as buoyant as the fans following the latest addition to their already star-studded squad.
| TWITTER WARNING FOR MAN UTD |
|||
 addCustomPlayer('u7fg1b8k6k6m1y29syl0lggtw', '3ED83D2644DE4FA4B8DEAE377C797895', '1qrfuhs2ojj0c1wtxnz2djnz74', 250, 204, 'perfu7fg1b8k6k6m1y29syl0lggtw-1qrfuhs2ojj0c1wtxnz2djnz74', 'eplayer11'); // ]]> |
|||
|
Sir Alex Ferguson urges caution over social media after Rio Ferdinand case |
|||
"The players are just like the fans in terms of talking about who we might sign and wondering which players might come in," Giggs told the club's official website.
"It's always very exciting for us when we sign new players because you know that whoever comes in with have a lot of quality and will help improve the team.
"You can see just from one training session the qualities he has which we know all about anyway because of all the times we’ve played against him.
"He brought that lift to training that a top player brings and that all bodes well."
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson recently claimed that his new crop of strikers rivals the four options he had during the club’s historic treble wining season of 1999, and Giggs thinks that the addition of a proven and experienced player in the shape of Van Persie will help the development of younger forwards such as England international Danny Welbeck and Mexico's Chicharito.
"They’re young lads and good lads who want to learn," he stated of the pair. "They've already learnt a lot from Wayne and you’ve seen the improvement from both players.
"Any player looks at the older lads who play in their position and what you can take from them and improve upon by watching them, and there’s no doubt Danny and Chicha will learn plenty from Robin."
In the past, the club have tended to bring in younger talent and look to develop them, however, at 29 years old and with an unimpressive injury record, the signing of Van Persie has been said to represent an about-face in policy.
| FORMER GUNNER FIRING? | |
| 11/10 | Robin van Persie is 11/10 with William Hill to score 22 or more Premier League goals in 2012-13 |
Giggs, though, who himself had injury troubles as a younger player and has been able to continue playing at the age of 38, does not see it being a problem for the Dutchman.
"Football has changed so much – it used to be that once you turned 30 you were on that slippery slope, but these days players look after themselves a lot better and the whole sports science side of the game has changed whereby players can go on and produce better football for much longer after 30.
"We know the manager likes to buy younger players and see them develop here, but now and again when there is a player out there who is that little bit older and more experienced then he’ll go for it. It’s a good balance to have."
"Yeah he does and it's exciting for him, the players and the fans," Giggs added of the broad wealth of attacking talent at Sir Alex's disposal.
"It's the manager’s job to juggle all the players and pick the right systems for the right games.
"We all know that if you go on cup runs and Champions League runs that you need that strength in depth in the squad because you’re going to get injuries and suspensions and dips in forms, so you need a big squad to compete at the top."
