With the World Cup starting this week, there will be pretty much no news surfacing for the next month with regards to transfers. Manchester United’s new manager Louis van Gaal will be completely preoccupied with his Dutch squad until July, most likely. However, as the world turns its attention to Brazil, it looks like United have got some prospective deals lined up, to be completed after van Gaal and the rest of the team returns to Old Trafford.
United Still Frontrunners to Sign Shaw
Since the end of the 2013-14 season, MUFC have been constantly linked with Southampton and England left-back Luke Shaw. The Saints have been having a sort of fire sale recently; Rickie Lambert has already left for Liverpool, with Adam Lallana and Shaw likely to be the next out the door. It’s currently being reported that a deal to bring Shaw to Man United has been all but completed, and as soon as Southampton hire a new manager, the sale will likely move forward. Shaw would be an excellent signing for the Red Devils, coming as an upgrade on Patrice Evra – Evra signed a new contract with the club a few weeks ago, but the past season showed that he’s slowing down at age 33.
Schweinsteiger to Fix a Broken Midfield?
More recently, there have been rumblings that van Gaal is very keen on acquiring midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich. It’s believed that Munich’s manager, Pep Guardiola, would be willing to part ways with Schweinsteiger for the right price – probably somewhere in the neighbourhood of £25 million. The German will likely be a good short-term fix for United’s midfield woes, although at 29 the club will probably have to start searching for his replacement in two years. Nevertheless, he would be welcome addition to United’s current embarrassing midfield situation.
Hummels, Strootman Among Other Targets:
Signing Shaw and Schweinsteiger would be very good moves, if Ed Woodward can pull them off. However, most United fans would not be satisfied if that was the end of the club’s summer dealings. United will need a new centre-back, after the departure of both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. In that regard, Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels has been mentioned as Louis van Gaal’s preferred target. In addition, they’ll need another midfielder, as Schweinsteiger alone would not be a viable solution there. The picture is a little more complicated there, with Cesc Fabregas unavailable after his sale to Chelsea. Someone younger than both Schweinsteiger and Fabregas, such as Toni Kroos or Kevin Strootman, would be ideal. Strootman is rumoured to be near the top of van Gaal’s list of targets, due to their connection through the Dutch national team. However, it’s not certain whether Strootman will be ready to play by the beginning of the season, due to the serious knee injury keeping him out of the World Cup.
Fellaini on the Way Out?
With regards to selling any players, United are rumoured to be taking offers on Marouane Fellaini. The big Belgian midfielder is apparently available for around £15 million; a drastically reduced price from the £27.5 million it cost to bring him to MUFC last September. Fellaini disappointed in his first season, failing to impress fans. In addition, there are doubts about whether Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher and Danny Welbeck will be returning to Old Trafford next season.
As already mentioned, both Vidic and Ferdinand have left Manchester United, after long tenures with the club (9 and 13 years, respectively). Vidic, who has been United’s captain since 2010, will be moving to Inter Milan on a free transfer. Ferdinand is currently a free agent, with former club QPR a possible destination.
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