Sebastian Veron was expected to be a superstar for Manchester United when he arrived from Lazio, but he never quite reached the heights people expected.
The Argentine Sebastian Veron was almost ahead of his time, arriving at Manchester United to break the British transfer record at the time, costing £28m.
However, Sir Alex Ferguson famously didn’t know where to play him, and therefore, he was sold before making good on his exciting potential.
Paul Scholes said Veron was an excellent player, and now John O’Shea has admitted his shock that Veron wasn’t better.
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John O’Shea was shocked that Sebastian Veron wasn’t more successful
O’Shea appeared on the Final Whistle YouTube channel and was asked about Veron.
“Yeah, listen, I suppose that’s where the team he was in in Italy when they won that Lazio team, it was all around him, basically. And then obviously he’s having to come in.
“What a player in training. And obviously in lots of the games as well. Really special player. What a talent.”
O’Shea was then asked whether Veron was among the most talented he had worked with.
“Yeah, listen, it, like I mentioned, how fortunate I was to be involved in some of the matches, the training games, and then you see, like one, he was, still to this day, one of the guys, he’s the only time I’ve seen training stopped.
“We were on a pre-season in America, and he scored a goal, and everyone just stopped and clapped. He stuck it in from about 25 yards when he did the little one foot behind the other. And it was like, at the time, he probably was the only one out of 24 that could have done that.
“And as, like you mentioned, very strange how it just didn’t really settle, but listen, the competition we had in midfield at the time was very strong. And the manager was trying to fit players in.
“And always as well, the Premier League is a different animal to different leagues where players will look a lot more, I suppose, complete in other leagues, whereas they’ll challenge a lot more physically in the Premier League. And then you’re hoping they can; their talent can stand out.
“It was a surprise he didn’t get more goals and be more of a success, but still, he was a success. He did have a career, a really successful career. And he’s a, he was a really special talent. That’s all I can say, really. And what a guy.”
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Veron was a really exciting addition in 2001. For all his ability, he never quite lived up to expectations at Old Trafford and left for Chelsea in 2003.
The reason behind Veron’s struggles is a mixture of United’s already stacked midfield department and Premier League football not being ready for his style of play just yet.
Interestingly, in 2020, Phil Neville told Premier League Productions that Veron reminded him of Bruno Fernandes for his style.
“He’s a really technical player, always wants to take the ball,” Neville said. “People talk about Paul Scholes, but he reminds me more of Veron with the way he’s got that invincibility of taking people on, a lot of shots from distance.
“The positions which he takes up, I think, are really interesting. He always finds space.”
It is safe to say that Fernandes has been more successful than Veron, but perhaps much of this is due to timing and circumstance.
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