Stoke and Manchester United have somewhat swapped roles this season.

From the days when Stoke bored everyone to tears and United played exciting flowing football, we are now witnessing quite a turn around. One of the key differences in Stoke's play has been Bojan and the talented Spaniard has begun to show why everyone at Barcelona rated him so highly as a teenager.

As with any high achieving mid-table side, Stoke now face the challenge of keeping hold of their star players and there will be inevitable approaches for their key men, Xherdan Shaqiri, Marko Arnautovic and Bojan.

Manchester United have struggled to keep their fans awake this season and an addition like Bojan would surely liven up their activity in the final third - or so you would hope. As United fans might be hoping for Bale or Neymar, there is no reason Bojan wouldn't have at least as strong an impact on their side.

Here are just a few of the reasons why...

Rooney Woe

Rooney's poor form throughout this season has left a lot of pressure on the shoulders of Anthony Martial.

Fortunately, the signing of Bojan would help take the light off of the ex-Monaco man and would hopefully give Rooney a bit more space to play.

Creatively Blunt

Juan Mata has never managed to be quite the crucial figure of United as he was at Chelsea and it looks as though his dip in form could well see the fans begin to turn on him.

The Spaniard has still got a decent record in terms of goals and assists, but the extra creative spark of Bojan would be a huge benefit to Mata's game and would hopefully sharpen the whole team up in the final third.

Sky High Ceiling

 

Once upon a time, Bojan was regarded to be a higher talent than Lionel Messi.

Admittedly that is some time ago now, but the ex-Barca youngster has shown glimpses of the player he could still become and it might be worth the gamble.

Tactical Flexibility

Bojan's ability to play as a false nine or the number 10 would give United another option in the final third.

With Martial and Rooney as their only natural centre forwards, signing Bojan would give them the option to use the Spaniard as a false nine and see Martial and Depay run in from wide.

Alternatively, Bojan could operate just behind Martial and pull the strings in the final third.

Bargain..

Compared to many of the names United are linked with, you'd expect Bojan to be a comparative bargain.

The Stoke man still has a lot to prove at the highest level and Stoke would surely not be asking for any fee that would even compete with signing someone like Griezmann or Bale.

Of course, Bojan is not at that pedigree yet, but, as I said earlier, the La Masia graduate is certainly worth the gamble.