Player Focus: Will Moyes Weigh up a Return for Ronaldo?

Many are tipping Chelsea to be Manchester United’s main title contenders next season, and while the Blues have already secured the return of a Special One this summer, Red Devils’ fans are still dreaming of a reunion of their own.

Quality out wide is not something that United have often lacked, particularly under Sir Alex Ferguson, but a somewhat disappointing season from their wingers, for a variety of different reasons, has seen some fans urge the club to strengthen in that area.

In that sense there are none stronger than Cristiano Ronaldo who, if he were to make a return to Old Trafford, would be welcomed back with the most open of arms. While Ferguson could rely on last summer's treat to the supporters Robin van Persie to score the goals to fire them to the title, the Dutchman received little help in boosting the side's goal tally from the wide men at the club.

Only the players fielded out wide - in midfield or attack - for Manchester City scored a lower percentage of their team's total goals last season than United (14%), with Tottenham (32%), Arsenal (29%) and Chelsea (23%) all getting far more from their wingers in terms of goal contribution. It's interesting that players that were deployed in wide positions for Norwich were able to score the same number of goals as their United counterparts (12) despite the Canaries netting less than half as many in total (41 to 86).

If you were looking to add goals from the flanks then, one need look no further than the former fans favourite, who has scored an astounding 146 La Liga goals in 135 appearances since making the switch to Madrid in 2009. Nevertheless, Ronaldo's future at the club has been in doubt for some time now, with the flamboyant megastar sending out mixed messages with regards to his next move.

If he does make himself available, you can bet that United will look to fight their way to the front of the queue, but would the Portugal international fit straight back into his former team and how would any possible move affect the playing style at the club?

The first thing to note is that Ronaldo is used to playing in a front three nowadays, having done so in his most successful spell at United and for the entirety of his current tenure at the Bernabeu. Interestingly, it's a system that Ferguson deployed just once last term having switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation to get the best out of his wide options. It's fair to say that of the players currently at the club, the least suited to any potential change would be Antonio Valencia, who is the most traditional winger at Moyes' disposal and a player who may well appeal to the Scot due to the quality of his delivery.

No La Liga or Premier League player scored more headed goals last season than Cristiano Ronaldo (6) and getting crosses into the danger area is a strength of United's and was a must for David Moyes' Everton side. Indeed, only Chelsea scored more headed efforts than the Red Devils last term (14), and with Ronaldo able to cut in from the left and pose a threat at the back post, the 28-year old would no doubt help to elevate that tally further.

In that sense, if Moyes were to stick with the current system Ronaldo would likely be stationed as an attacking left-winger, though his playing style, as shown by his touches heat map (above), would see the marksman drift inside. Any potential arrival of Ronaldo, and indeed departure of Wayne Rooney, could allow Shinji Kagawa to play a more central role where he is more likely to thrive. Though it may cause an imbalance to the side, United's tendency to attack down Valencia's flank is already evident, with only Norwich and Stoke having a higher percentage of their attacking touches down the right than United (40%) last season.

It's an area where Rafael can bomb forward, knowing that Valencia can cover capably, while the more experienced and defensive Patrice Evra would allow for the increasingly attacking Ronaldo to all but desert any defensive responsibilities.

Much of the Portuguese's threat comes in the most explosive of forms. A glance at Ronaldo's WhoScored.com player characteristics shows that he is 'very strong' when it comes to long shots and direct free-kicks, with few players packing such a punch from distance. While United have the likes of van Persie and Rooney on their books, for the time being at least, they have players capable of the odd wonder goal already, but only 9 of the team's strikes last season came from range. To put that into perspective, the league's lowest scorers QPR scored 11 goals from outside the box, and of the league's top 7 teams, only Arsenal netted fewer.

Ronaldo struck 5 times from outside the box last season and, excluding blocked efforts, he had a European high of 81 shots from range. In comparison, van Persie and Rooney mustered 62 between them, showing just how eager - overly or not - that the Madrid man is to fire off shots at goal from the unlikeliest of angles and distances. If Rooney were to stay at the club and be joined by Ronaldo, than a front three including van Persie would be frightening to say the least.

It would, however, go against Moyes' ethos at Everton to exploit the wide areas, but if he gets the opportunity to sign a player of Ronaldo's quality, the new man in charge could certainly be forgiven for a change of heart.