Is Moyes too small for big signings?

Much as he was good at nurturing homegrown talent, Sir Alex Ferguson is also remembered for having made news in the sports world for signing already established stars.During his tenure, Fergie pursued players like Juan Sebastian Veron, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Dimitar Berbatov and signed them while they were being courted by other big clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid.Even before he left, he made sure he signed another big player in David De Gea, whose Spanish heritage meant that Barcelona was outgunned in getting a suitable replacement for Victor Valdez.Fergie’s replacement, David Moyes, has been linked with all kinds of players since the transfer season began, with the most serious being Robert Lewandowski, Ezekiel Garay, Leighton Baines and Thiago Alcatra.With only 34 days left before the new season begins, Moyes finds himself unable to lure anyone of the above players to Old Trafford, something that has worried fans throughout the world.For much of the time, there was air of hope that Lewandowski snubbed Bayern Munich actually agreed a deal with The Red Devils. Then it died.Another deal to sign Argentinean Ezequiel Marcelo Garay was a few drops of ink away. Then it also died. Now, United has been flirting with the Spanish super kid Thiago Alcantara for a long time, making us believe that the deal is actually imminent.However, the deal was brought to its knees a few days back when Pep Guardiola publicly declared that he wanted to sign Thiago “or no one else.”My question is, if United are serious about signing Thiago, why has it taken them this long? Why doesn’t Moyes make it his prime objective to sign this star before other clubs start to show serious interest and complicate the matter?This brings into question Moyes’ ability and image. But whether he can lure great names to Manchester United is not more disturbing than whether United is fast dwindling into a club that great players no longer dream of playing for.Arsenal is only flirting with big namesAccording to Arsene Wenger and his bosses, this is the transfer period when things are supposed to be happening at Arsenal FC.Almost everyone that matters at Arsenal has assured the fans about how they now have a gold chest, ready to spill the money to acquire the right talent that will return the Gunners to their former glory.Indeed they haven’t disappointed… at least with the ridiculous bids they have made so far.Whether it was a tactical move or not, Arsenal’s bid for Luis Suarez wasn’t going to go through, and Wenger of all people knew that.Other than Suarez, Wenger has been linked to other players such as Wayne Rooney and Gonzalo Higuan, of which, only one of them seems to be a real target.Just like Suarez, not in a million years would Rooney join the Gunners, especially when clubs like Real Madrid and Chelsea are eyeing him. Whereas for Higuan, it’s a deal that is just as disturbing as Thiago’s speculated move to Old Trafford.However both Arsenal and Manchester United are only one player away in the right department from becoming incredibly good sides and probably that’s why they are taking more time than their rivals to finalise deals.In the end, both Moyes and Wenger must make serious moves before the transfer window closes to prove that they have the metal to compete against the free spending sides like Chelsea and Barcelona which recently acquired a demigod footballer in Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior.@RushAfrican on Twitter