Which Of The 5 Biggest Targets Linked To Manchester United Will The Club Splash The Cash To Sign?

As usual Manchester United have been linked with a whole raft of players in the weeks leading up to the January transfer window opening and the speculation will only intensify as we move into the remainder of December and then throughout the month of January.

As United fans will remember the recent failed gamble of paying a ridiculous contract salary of around £500,000 per week when they saw off the challenge of Man City to seal the deal that brought Alexis Sanchez to Old Trafford in January 2018. Sanchez was a total bust only scoring 3 goals in an injury ravaged 34 games for United where he did not show any of the form he did while with Arsenal.

United have not always failed with their business dealings in January, however, it was in January 2006 they actually completed two of the best signings ever in January but of course it happened in the middle of Sir Alex Ferguson’s spell in charge at Old Trafford. The two players we refer to arrived in the same transfer winter window 2006.

Signed from Spartak Moscow, Serbian centre-back Nemanja Vidic was a rock at the centre of United’s defence paired with Rio Ferdinand and he was a warrior for Ferguson as he would literally run through walls for his boss. The other brilliant signing was French international Patrice Evra who was an immensely popular player who made the left back position his own with his marauding runs down the wing and brilliant delivery into the box.

Both players won a host of silverware with United in their time at the club – 2006-2014 which included 5 Premier League title wins and a Champions League win amongst numerous other honours.

It will be interesting to see if United make any big moves – there certainly has been no shortage of quality players linked with a move to join Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s new youth revolution.

Erling Haaland

The first name that comes to mind is Erling Haaland the 19 year old Norwegian forward has scored 28 goals in 22 appearances so far this campaign as he is simply tearing it up for his club Red Bull Salzburg.

United have possibly been hoping that the United boss may have some sway with his countryman as RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund are apparently also very keen on the starlet.

The question is do United really need another young striker when they already have Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood and other youngsters in Daniel James who can all play upfront. A more experienced striker would make more sense you would think but Haaland and his 28 goals in 22 appearances are pretty eye-catching.

Rumours of Mario Mandzukic or Edin Dzeko joining the Red-Devils do not seem likely given Ole’s desire to play by moving the ball fast and attacking with pace and intent.

Bruno Fernandes

The Portuguese international attacking midfielder looked like a serious target for United in the summer but since Fernandes signed a new deal with Sporting Lisbon and his release clause has jumped from £65m to a whopping £85m, United seem to have cooled their interest.

Last season the midfielder had a career year as he banged in a stunning 32 goals and added 18 assists in 53 games.

This season he has not been quite so prolific but teams are more ready to deal with his threat this season but he has still notched 12 goals in 24 games so far this campaign for club and country.

It’s a shame as at 25 years old he would fit the age group Ole wants to assemble and is a genuine goal threat from midfield where United are not blessed with too many options given Pogba’s extended absence which could well see the Frenchman leave Old Trafford in the summer.

Lautaro Martinez

The player who also brings you off your seat and is another attacking starlet who would fit right in with the Rashford, James, Martial and Greenwood quartet is Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez.

Argentinian hitman Lautaro Martinez was literally electric as Inter tried to beat Barcelona and reach the knockout round of the Champions League last week.

Inter failed to advance losing 2-1 on the night but Martinez set up former United striker Lukaku for a goal and was a threat whenever he had the ball and looks like a proper player. Whether Milan would be prepared to talk about selling such a prized asset seems unlikely but you never know as the 2 clubs just recently did the Lukaku sale and also pulled off a late loan deal for Alexis Sanchez.

Martinez has scored 16 goals in 24 games for club and country so he is in demand but is looking for a big new contract which is where United could come in and take advantage of the situation.

Saúl Ñíguez

Atletico Madrid Saul Niguez midfielder has been linked with a move to Manchester United because the young Spaniard has such a fine pedigree having represented Spain at every level from the U16 including making his full Spanish debut back in 2016.

Saul Niguez and is seriously hot property and Atletico will have a battle on their hands if they want to keep him.

Niguez originally broke through as a defensive midfielder but his full talent has been recognised as he has now become known as a box-to-box midfielder who can do it all.

While he has scored a modest 3 goals so far this season, the offensive potential of the player has clearly been recognised by big clubs around Europe as he is hot property and very much in demand.

Jadon Sancho

The young prodigy who could be the man to make a move back to the UK is former Manchester City academy winger Jadon Sancho.

It was quite widely reported that the 19-year-old Sancho had a bit of a spat with Borussia Dortmund boss Lucien Favre after Sancho was substituted after just 36 minutes of the first half of the team’s crushing 4-0 loss to Bayern Munich because as the Bundesliga Official Site reported Favre felt Sancho “was not good enough.”

It seems like the issue is history now as Sancho who was given his 1st team debut in October 2017 as a 17-year-old by Favre clearly thinks very highly of Sancho referring to him as “a world-class player” with skill levels that bely his age – high praise indeed. It was Favre that brought Sancho into the first team last season where he made his full England debut and topped the Bundesliga assist chart with 14 and added 12 goals to boot.

It’s obvious Sancho likes and respects Lucien Favre hence reports of Sancho leaving being played down by the English starlet. He can’t complain much when he is playing Champions League football and playing in the first team regularly so why would Sancho be so keen to leave such a good set-up where Dortmund in 3rd are very much in contention for the Bundesliga title (along with almost the top 10 teams as there is only an 11 point gap between themselves and Augsburg in 10th). Sancho’s Dortmund are through to the Champions League knockout round where they face a tough draw against their old boss Thomas Tuchel at PSG.

Jadon Sancho has proved second season syndrome is not an issue for him at his tender age of 19 years old as he has already banged in 12 goals and 11 assists in 23 appearances in all competitions in his second season 2019/20. Sancho is red hot at the moment with six goals and five assists respectively in his last seven outings. For England Sancho is very much in Gareth Southgate’s plan for EURO 2020 his impressive, attacking displays either starting or coming off the bench and the starlet has not been over-awed showing that he belongs at this level with his brace of goals in England’s 5-3 win over Kosovo in September earlier this year.