Report: Vlaar to Manchester United if wages aren't doubled

Ron Vlaar is apparently asking for his wages to be doubled by Aston Villa if a report in the Star is to be believed. It goes on to add that if the wage demands aren't met by Villa, then Louis van Gaal's Manchester United are the most-likely landing spot for the Dutch defender. The report isn't much different than the rumours we've been hearing for a couple of months, but it has the added specificity of the wage demand in it. So, what should we make of this report?

Well, there is first the fact that this is an unsourced report (that is also without a byline) in the Daily Star. That makes me pretty dubious already. It goes on to add that Vlaar is being watched by other teams and United would likely end up shelling out £4 million for his services in January. It's all good and well, but it's all what we've already heard.

For the moment, then, let's cast aside worries about authenticity. There's a pretty solid foundational logic to this article that makes it hard to entirely ignore, even if we don't love the source. Villa do need to re-sign Vlaar before the January transfer window, or they risk losing him this summer for free. You can make a pretty compelling argument that whatever Villa get for Vlaar would actually be less valuable than having him in the lineup, though. So perhaps losing him for free is something the club is willing to do.

Assuming they do want to sell him, £4 million doesn't seem like an unreasonable price for five months of football. And nor does Vlaar's alleged request of a doubling of wages when you consider he's only getting £25,000 per week right now. When he's healthy, Vlaar is absolutely worth the £50,000 per week he'd be (theoretically) getting with a new wage package.

Is the demand crazy? Absolutely not. Is the rumoured price insane? Nope. Do the clubs connected to Vlaar make any sense? They sure do! And so I'm forced to say that, qualms about the report aside, this all seems to make a lot of sense. It's certainly not the dumbest rumour we've seen about Vlaar, and it should likely add some impetus to get a deal done. Vlaar has had some health issues in the past two seasons, but there is no denying that he's the best defender that Villa have and that the club are better when he plays. Let's just get a deal done with, please.