15. Nemanja Vidic

Serbian Cyborg Nemanja Vidic’s proposed move away from Manchester United this summer may have come a step closer as Sir Alex Ferguson moved to capture the signing of England U-21 international defender Chris Smalling from Fulham yesterday.

The 20 year old has been hyped as a future star and with Ferguson already counting on Jonny Evans to become a first team regular in the coming years, it looks as though Vidic’s time at the Champions may be drawing to a close. Hasta La Vista Baby! So long, and thanks for all the fish.

This is still all pure speculation of course. Vidic has made his desire to stay audible, but in private, with his wife apparently pining for a move to a hotter climb (obviously spoiled by the sweltering tropical climates of Serbia) the rumors of a move to Spain and Madrid in particular are gaining serious momentum. With Rio Ferdinand poised to become the next United captain proper when Gary Neviile finally gives up the ghost and admits he’ll never be able to grow a proper beard and might as well retire, Vidic is the most likely to be left out in the cold…or in the warm Madrid sun.

Smalling is being seen as the next step in rebuilding United’s backline for the future with Evans, the Da Silva twins and Riche (Ctrl Alt) DeLeat.

The problem is, how long will this transitional period take? Evans is certainly a promising player, but without Ferdinand or Vidic alongside him, and often paired with the recently erratic Wes Brown, he’s looked a little out of his depth. In fact United’s backline has looked incredibly weak this year by comparison to previous seasons. Vidic may not have completely recovered from the onset of injuries and a drop in form after the 4-1 defeat by Liverpool last season, but prior to that was arguably the Premier League’s top performer. Less than a year ago he was being touted as United’s most important player, even with Ronaldo still in attendance. At still only 28, a relatively sprightly age for a centre back, he’s clearly still got a lot to offer and the clubs impregnable defence has deteriorated rapidly in the absence of him and his forgetful partner in crime. Why does Fergie seem so eager to replace such a prized asset if he’s not already resigned to loosing him?

The best-case scenario for United would be for Vidic to stay on for at least another year to help ease the transition of Smalling whilst still helping to improve the consistency of Evans. Ferdinand, 3 years the Serbians senior and also plagued by injury recently, is displaying worrying signs of going the way of Neville, which would leave United in the bizarre position of replacing one constantly injured token captain with another. He would seem the more logical of the two to make way, especially since Spalling is from the Ferdinand school of defending. However his desire to stay has never been questioned, and his influence in the dressing room is immense (ya get me blud? brap!) and with a team already undergoing transition in a myriad of different positions this season, jettisoning their two most senior and trustworthy defenders would seem fool hardly, if not outright suicidal. Vidic's impending exit seems a plausible reason for Fergie to want to bolster the back line now.

So it seems the Serbinator may well be on the way out at Old Trafford, and even worse, to Real Madrid, the club rapidly positioning itself at the end of the conveyor belt of United’s talent, nicking all the produce. So I might as well get in early then…Spalling to Madrid in 2016 anyone?