Manchester United desperately need to bolster their midfield options ahead of next season but if last night is anything to go by, then Louis Van Gaal should avoid Cameroon's Alex Song.
The Daily Mail have reported that he is being offered to United and Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo say he been told he can leave Catalonia by new Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, who seems intent to rely on Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano next season.
With Napoli and Inter Milan also monitoring the Cameroon international, many thought the World Cup would be the perfect choice to attract suitors this summer, but if his performance against Mexico is anything to go by, he won't have many offers on his desk in the next couple of weeks.
Normally the midfield lynchpin, Song completed 96.7% of his 30 attempted passes – he averaged a 91.7% completion rate in La Liga last season – but failed to make a single tackle or clearance and only completed three key passes successfully, as Cameroon were overran in midfield.
Judging a player on the back of a single performance would be short-sighted but the feeling is that Song would only be a valuable signing if he was brought in alongside another world class central midfielder.
Dan is a freelance journalist whose passion for European and South American football is only bettered by his love for Manchester United. He covers opinion columns and has also been published on The Guardian.