3 Realistic Targets Manchester United Could Sign This January

As the January transfer window looms large, we take a look at 3 players who Louis Van Gaal could add to strengthen his ever improving Red Devils…

Xherdan Shaqiri (Bayern Munich)

Having failed to establish himself as a first-team regular at Bayern, the Swiss captain looks finally set to move on from the Bavarian capital. The highly rated youngster has been touted for great things ever since his early days at Basel but a world class Munich line up has ensured that he has had to settle for extended spells on the bench. At the age of 23, Shaqiri needs playing time and United could look land him on loan or permanently in January.

Liverpool were heavily linked with him in the summer before he opted to stay and fight for his place at Bayern Munich. However his situation at the German champions hasn’t changed and Shaqiri is now pushing for a move away from the Allianz Arena. His agent revealed that he had been offered to Napoli but any chances of that move going ahead were quickly extinguished. In the past few weeks though, reports have begun to suggest that Manchester United could potentially be interested in acquiring his services as Van Gaal looks for a new wide man. If signed he would offer the Dutchman close ball control and impressive upper body strength as well as an eye for a pass and a thunderous shot. Signing Shaqiri could be a risk though as he hasn’t played a great deal of football recently but he won’t have gone backwards as a player under Pep Guardiola’s stewardship and could be available for a cut price.

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Kevin Strootman (AS Roma)

The Dutchman has long been pursued by Manchester United, with Van Gaal openly a big fan of his from their time together with the Holland national team. Reports have suggested that the completion of this transfer has now turned into a matter of when, not if. The main question was whether he would join in January or the summer and that seemed to be based on Roma’s progression in the Champions League. However, having been knocked out of the competition by Manchester City on Wednesday, all signs point to Strootman becoming a United played in the first month of 2015.

Dutch journalist, Hugo Borst, claimed that Van Gaal and the midfielder shook hands on a deal whilst they watched an Eredivisie game together at the tail end of last season. All reports suggest that Strootman will be a United player in the not too distant future but as we all know, papers can be very wrong on these things. What’s more, Roma seem defiant. Coach Rudi Garcia placing a €100m price tag on the player in response to interest from the Premier League record winners. Having come back from a long term injury recently, the Dutchman has been booed by sections of his own support for playing a part in CSKA Moscow’s late equaliser in the recent Champions League game in the Russian capital. Compared to Roy Keane, Strootman is a keen tackler and very good technician. He would be a very valuable addition to the United juggernaut.

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Miranda (Atletico Madrid)

Having been linked with United in the summer, the rumours surrounding a possible move to Old Trafford haven’t gone away for the Brazilian. A key component in Atletico Madrid’s success under Diego Simeone, him and Diego Godin have struck up one of Europe’s best defensive partnerships. Miranda has hardly put a foot wrong in the past few seasons. His heading and tackling are outstanding as well as his positioning. He also is no slouch and has a real burst of speed, which has surprised many top strikers in recent times. At the age of 30, he could add some much needed experience and quality to United’s backline, which has looked shaky to say the least over the past 2 seasons. He would be that world class defender Van Gaal has been so desperately searching for and potentially the final piece in the jigsaw.

Although he is so very important to Atletico, that I struggle to see the Spanish champions allowing him to leave in January. The heart of the defence is so key to their success and Simeone would want a world class replacement already lined up if he were to let Miranda go. Also the Brazilian owes a lot of his new found recognition as a world class centre-back to the club he joined from Sao Paolo in 2011 and could decide to stay put through loyalty. However, that same factor didn’t stop Diego Costa and Filipe Luis joining Chelsea last summer, so anything is possible. The least likely of the 3 transfers to happen, which is unfortunate as he is probably the player United need the most.