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da prosport bet： The summer transfer window may have only just slammed shut but we at Football FanCast are already looking forward toÂJanuary.And it appears Manchester United are too, despite spending £150million this summer, making it the second-most lucrative window of any club in the history of football. The Red Devils added the likes of Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao, Luke Shaw and Daley Blind to their squad this summer but further recruitment is needed if the Premier LeagueÂside are to return to their former glories.Louis van Gaal seems to share that opinion and the tabloids are already flooded with reports of his planned January swoops. Being the lovely bunch we are at Football Fancast, we’ve decided to list FIVE of them.
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KEVIN STROOTMAN
Manchester United’s plans to sign Netherlands international Kevin Strootman in January are no great secret – Louis van Gaal essentially admitted as much back in July.
In fact, the Roma midfielder, who enjoys the unofficial moniker of ‘the Dutch Roy Keane’, would likely be a United player right now if he didn’t pick up a knee injury at the end of last season that saw him miss the World Cup and the entirety of the summer transfer window. Thus, reports linking him with a winter move to Old Trafford are not hard to come by:
The 24 year-old has emerged as one of Serie A’s most dominant forces since joining Giallorossi from PSV last summer, claiming five goals and six assists in 25 league outings. This wonder-strike in the Coppa Italia also stood out:
//www.youtube.com/embed/Q0kMYHuIKSk?autoplay=1&loop=1&playlist= Q0kMYHuIKSk
But the Oranje international’s utility to the Red Devils in a box-to-box capacity is better represented by the below statistics:
Interestingly, Strootman has just ditched his agent, trading in Chiel Dekker for SEG – the company that oversaw Robin van Persie’s move to Manchester United in 2012.
But the £25million-rated midfielder’s situation isn’t as simple as that. Roma claim their rising star is simply ‘unsellable’, whilst interest from PSG could provide another stumbling block:
SAMI KHEDIRA
If the Strootman swoop falls through, Manchester United may find themselves thrust towards Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira, who was linked with an Old Trafford switch earlier this summer:
A Champions League and World Cup winner, the 27 year-old is considered to be one of the leading central midfielders in world football. Here’s a look at the Germany international in action:
//www.youtube.com/embed/RetIjHKY6pA?rel=0
And his stats from Brazil 2014:
Khedira was expected to leave the Bernabeu this summer after rejecting a contract extension from the European champions, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season.
The issue was downplayed by Carlo Ancelotti as Real Madrid eventually sold Xabi Alonso to Bayern Munich instead, but we’re still waiting for negotiations to get underway.
Khedira was rated at around £15million in the summer, so if he enters the January window without agreeing new terms, he could arrive at Old Trafford for next-to-nothing.
MATS HUMMELS
Manchester United fans must be tired of this repetitive rumour but it just won’t die, suggesting there must be some truth in it somewhere down the line.
If you haven’t already guessed, after chasing after his services for the entirety of the summer window, the Red Devils have once again been linked with Borussia Dortmund centre-back Mats Hummels:
United are believed to have had a £20million bid for the 25 year-old rejected in the summer and despite him recently extending his contract until 2017 in addition to being named Black-Yellows captain, the Old Trafford side are prepared to up the ante in January.
The Red Devils are clearly suckers for punishment but their interest is more than justified – as well as bieng a top-class defender, the World Cup winner is famed for his ability to play out of the back and link-up with midfield, best represented by these attacking and passing statistics:
Here’s a vid showing Hummels’ impressive all-round game:
//www.youtube.com/embed/BitBv8B48UQ
Hummels’ mixture of leadership qualities and composure on the ball is exactly what United are currently lacking in the heart of defence. Whether they can mastermind a winter deal however remains to be seen.
ANDRE AYEW
After rejecting a move to Hull City on deadline day, Manchester United have been linked with a January swoop for Ghana international Andre Ayew:
The Marseille star has emerged as Ligue 1’s most potent wideman over the last few seasons, amassing an impressive 49 goals and 16 assists in 166 appearances for L’OM. He was in good form at the World Cup too, as detailed below:
Ayew isn’t the most conventional winger but he’s strong defensively, versatile and, as viewable in the below video, also outrageously good at heading:
//www.youtube.com/embed/0gIZogfsorU?rel=0
And it’s believed that positional flexibility is what Louis van Gaal likes in the 24 year-old, seeing him as a potential option in midfield, attack and on the left-side of his 3-4-1-2 formation.
Even more appealingly, Ayew’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season and a new deal is looking increasingly unlikely, meaning he can be picked up for a pittance in January.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Could this conceivably happen, or are we all being hoodwinked by the British press and our own nostalgia?
World-class forward and United icon Cristiano Ronaldo recently revealed in an interview that he plans to return to Old Trafford before the end of his career. This has lead to a plethora of speculation, with rumours that Manchester United and super-agent Jorge Mendez are already working on a deal:
These claims have been further backed up by La Liga correspondent Guillem Balague.
It goes without saying that the Real Madrid star, who has claimed 255 goals in 250 appearances for the Spanish side since leaving the Red Devils in 2009 and is widely regarded as one of the two leading entities in world football, would be a sensational addition to the United squad.
Here’s a look at Ronaldo’s twenty best ever goals:
//www.youtube.com/embed/–GlFGOT9Cc?rel=0
But likely to cost United a figure that rivals Angel di Maria’s £59million British transfer record, this mega-move will probably have to wait until the summer.
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