Manchester United Transfer News: Is Robin Van Persie the New Fernando Torres?

Manchester United need to be very careful about how they pursue a deal for Robin van Persie, otherwise it could come back to haunt them.

It seems strange, really, to consider the transfer of one of the world's best players last season and certainly the English Premier League's best striker last season as a potential transfer bust, but the simple truth is that Robin van Persie could well be exactly that.

Ever since the 28-year-old Gunners frontman stated he would not be re-signing with the club when his contract expires at the end of the season, Sir Alex Ferguson and the Red Devils have been linked with the Dutch international.

According to the latest reports in The Telegraph, United are the last standing viable option for Van Persie this season—other than remaining at Arsenal—and they will show their desire to land the star striker by offering him a massive £220,000 per week contract.

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that the club are interested in signing RVP and that they have made a new bid for him (per The Guardian), and it seems that the waiting game will now begin as we anticipate what Arsenal's next move will be.

Having said that, Manchester United must not get carried away with Robin van Persie and the possible transfer of him. The fans, the followers and the club officials themselves must not see the Dutch international as the be all and end all for the summer transfer window.

After narrowly missing out on Lucas Moura, it's possible that the Red Devils react aggressively to try and sign Van Persie—a completely acceptable decision but one that must still be taken with extreme caution and concern.

As Olivier Kay at The Times points out, Untied will not get the 28-year-old on the cheap this summer—if they get him at all—and even should they acquire him, RVP will bring his own set of baggage with him to the club. Baggage that United must accept as reality.

For the reality is that Van Persie is 28 years old, and he isn't going to get any younger. The reality is that his career has been littered by injuries and his body is what any normal person would consider injury-prone.

The reality is that apart from one good season at the club, the Dutch international hasn't been as spectacular as the Gunners would have liked. The reality is that he has turned his back on the club and the manager that stood by him all those years of inconsistency and injury.

Having said all of that, the reality also is that Robin van Persie is a very, very good player and one that would clearly make an impact next season—wherever he plays football. The striker's clinical finishing with either foot, his keen eye for goal and his ability to create and develop an attack out of nothing proves that to be true.

Thirty goals and nine assists in 38 English Premier League appearances testify the same. As does the Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year Award. As does the PFA Player's Player of the Year Award. As does the Golden Boot Award.

The way in which he practically single-handedly pulled Arsenal from transfer turmoil, maintained their status as a Premier League contender and qualified them once more for the UEFA Champions League is testament to just how good Van Persie is.

But just because one player is good one season doesn't mean they are going to be as good, if not better, the next season. They say form is temporary and class is eternal, but the chilling reality is that both can abandon a player as quickly as they come.

The example of course would be Fernando Torres.

Fernando Torres—who was simply brilliant at Liverpool—went from Anfield hero to Stamford zero in the space of one transfer window. One transfer window, in which Chelsea paid £50 million to bring what they knew to be a dynamic striker to the club, only to find out how wrong they were all along.

Eighty-one goals in 142 appearances for Liverpool; Twelve goals in 67 appearances for Chelsea—you do the math and you'll just how big Torres has spluttered since he moved to the Blues.

Regardless of whether he scores 50 goals this season or not, he will forever be remembered as the player that flopped like no player has flopped before.

See, El Nino stands as a lesson to the footballing world not to place too much hope and expectation upon a single transfer. And I'm worried that Manchester United might be following down a similar path with Robin van Persie.

If the Dutch international does move to United, he will arrive under an enormity of pressure and expectation; hype and anticipation of what he can deliver for the Red Devils.

He will arrive and be expected to deliver his results from last season—week in and week out. He will not be expected to be injured, and he will not be expected to splutter. He will be expected to succeed and anything else will not be good enough.

Which is a dangerous road to tread for Sir Alex Ferguson, for there is a real possibility that RVP will not succeed at Old Trafford like he did last season. And I'm worried, for there is a real possibility that Van Persie could well become what Torres became after his transfer.

A joke.

I'm worried that United are placing too much expectation on RVP and that his possible arrival at the club is simply creating a recipe for disaster and the laughing stock of the football world.

I'm worried that the success of a player at one club one season (Arsenal) won't transpire to the same success at another club the next season (Manchester Unitred).

I'm worried that the 28-year-old will begin to feel his age and his injuries and that every Manchester United fan will feel them also.

I'm worried that the Dutchman's presence will force the exit of Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez, Shinji Kagawa—all who will go on to have much more successful careers than they had at Old Trafford.

I'm worried that he will suffocate Wayne Rooney and the two won't "gel" in the way that everyone hoped they would.

I'm worried that United have paid too much, are expecting too much and are only setting themselves up for disappointment and regret.

I'm worried about the news that Manchester United are pressing hard to sign Robin van Persie over the summer window and are sacrificing their chances to sign new players because of it.

Especially if he turns out like Fernando Torres.

Are there similarities between Robin van Persie and Fernando Torres?

Comment below or hit me up on Twitter:  Follow @dantalintyre