Why Van Persie is suddenly keen to stay at Man United

Robin van Persie is “very happy” at Manchester United and would be glad to spend the remainder of his professional career at Old Trafford.

That is the latest statement from the Dutchman, who told the club’s match programme United Review that he is progressing under United manager David Moyes and wants to spearhead a new era of success under the Scot.

Convincing though this may sound, the comments come after a prolonged period of silence during which the former Arsenal man has been linked with a return to the Emirates or a move to Serie A high flyers Juventus.

Here at Ladbrokes News we’re not fully convinced by RVP’s words and below we speculate as to the reason for his sudden desire to stay put.

He knows something we don’t about the manager’s position

Van Persie may speak in glowing terms about Moyes in this latest interview but it’s too little too late if playing down speculation was his aim. RVP left Arsenal for United to win trophies and believes success is far from guaranteed under the Scot.

However, a number of managers have been linked with Moyes’ job in recent weeks, with Sir Alex Ferguson heading up the market. While Fergie’s return seems unlikely, RVP’s fellow countryman Frank de Boer recently emerged as a likely candidate should Moyes get the chop.

One school of thought is that Van Persie has been made privy to the United board’s plans in order to convince him to stay put.

No one else wants him

That no one would want to buy the two-time Premier League top scorer is obviously wide of the mark, but despite the usual transfer rumblings, none of Europe’s elite sides have made loud enough noises for Van Persie to continue his silent stance.

Had Arsenal and Juventus – the two teams most heavily linked with bids – offered concrete evidence of their desire then the player could quite easily have gone on quietly about his business and allowed the press speculation to mount.

But this interest has not been displayed and it appears RVP is now looking to build bridges after realising he may have to stay put at Old Trafford, for another two years at least.

He wants to see who the new faces are

With United now a 10/1 shot to reach the top four Moyes has been promised a transfer kitty of over £100m.

Van Persie’s thirst for trophies is so great that he would never get over it if he left United just before a new era of glory.

With the Red Devils linked with a host of top talents – including the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Toni Kroos and English duo Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana – it is likely RVP is sticking around for one more year to give Moyes a fair crack of the whip.

To appear settled ahead of the World Cup

Van Persie could still be looking to jump ship this summer and his comments could be designed simply to ensure favouritism from Holland coach Luis van Gaal ahead of the World Cup.

RVP is not the best-liked player in the Dutch camp but the appearance of being settled would go some way to appeasing his manager and international teammates.

This of course, would give him his best chance of performing in the ultimate shop window that is the World Cup in order to convince other clubs to table an interest.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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