da bet7： Fresh from a £150 million summer binge, Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has insisted that he doesn’t plan to make any signings during the January transfer window, declaring himself happy with the progress his current squad has made during the first few months of the season.
da spicy bet： Let’s see how far he is willing to go to stick to his promise as the Premier League club have informed the Dutchman that another bulging transfer budget is available to him in the new year. Van Gaal will have to display levels of abstinence unheard of in the modern game if the substantial pot of gold shimmering seductively before his eyes is to remain untouched. Given that this is the man who splashed out £60m on Angel di Maria, such a display of fiscal conservatism somehow seems unlikely, and it should not come as a great surprise if the Red Devils do indeed indulge in another expensive shopping spree in January. Here are five players the club should target:
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CLICK ON KEVIN STROOTMAN TO GET THE BALL ROLLING
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1. Kevin Strootman
Louis van Gaal has been a long-time admirer of his compatriot, who currently plies his trade in Italy with AS Roma. Strootman was a regular fixture in the Dutch national side while van Gaal was in charge, and the 24 year-old would have been one of the first names on the squad list for the summer’s World Cup in Brazil were it not for a serious injury suffered in March which ruled him out for eight months. Although van Gaal left his role as head coach of Der Oranje for the managerial hot-seat at Old Trafford following the World Cup, the esteem he holds for Strootman remains undimmed. A strong, mobile defensive midfielder with an eye for the occasional goal, Strootman would be a welcome addition to an area of the Manchester United side that is relatively weak and short on options. The news that Strootman has recently returned from injury will have encouraged van Gaal, who would relish the opportunity to work with the Roma man again. Expect this midfield maestro to be one of United’s main transfer targets.
2. Mats Hummels
The commonly-held view of United’s summer transfer policy is that exciting, star-studded attacking signings had come at the expense of much-needed reinforcement in defence. With the preferred centre-back pairing of Phil Jones and Jonny Evans reliably injury-prone and Chris Smalling still failing to convince, there is a worry that United’s threadbare defence will prove to be their downfall this season. They could do worse than to enquire about the availability of Mats Hummels, who has been frequently linked with a move to the Premier League. The Borussia Dortmund defender – who is a World Cup and two-time Bundesliga winner – is an excellent reader of the game and would add valuable experience to the United backline. Although the 25-year-old’s lack of pace has often been cited as one of his main weaknesses, he would still represent an upgrade on the current crop at Old Trafford, and with Dortmund struggling in Bundesliga at the moment, he may be tempted by a move.
3. İlkay Gündoğan
Another highly-rated Dortmund player, Gündoğan is a central midfielder who would bring greater mobility and creativity to the United side. The 24-year-old could form an effective partnership with Strootman in the middle of the park, with the former linking play with the attack while the latter assumes a more defensive role. Like in defence, United are crying out for quality options in this area of the team. Van Gaal remains unconvinced by Marouane Fellaini, while at 33 and 30 years of age respectively, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher are showing the inevitable signs of decline. Gündoğan has youth on his side, has tasted success at Dortmund and has experience of playing at the highest level of the game (it was he who scored the German side’s goal in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich in 2013). The fact that United were willing to let Shinji Kagawa return to Dortmund in the summer could make the Bundesliga outfit more inclined to sell.
4. Nathaniel Clyne
Having already raided Southampton for left-back Luke Shaw in June, doing so again for a player impressing on the opposite flank of the Saints’ defence would be a bit cheeky. Nevertheless, United would be hard-pressed to find a more promising right-back than Nathaniel Clyne. Only 23, he has already made a combined total of more than 200 first-team appearances for his old club Crystal Palace and his current employers Southampton. This indicates that the youngster does not have a tendency to succumb to injuries – which immediately stands him in good stead for holding down a regular berth in the United back four – and the fact that he has made such an excellent start to the season in a wonderful Saints side should obviously not go unnoticed either. A modern, attacking full-back, Clyne would fit seamlessly into the United team, and offers greater defensive solidity than Rafael da Silva, the current incumbent at the right side of the Red Devils’ back line.
5. Jan Vertonghen
The centre-back has fallen out of favour at Tottenham Hotspur, which makes him a realistic and affordable option for Louis van Gaal. His links to Ajax – with whom he spent six seasons between 2006 and 2012 – means that an understanding of the Dutchman’s philosophy should come easy, and his two seasons of prior experience in the Premier League with Spurs is clearly a plus. The 27 year-old Belgian is a versatile, technically assured defender who can play in a number of positions and his continued exclusion from Tottenham’s starting eleven is strange. Manchester United would be wise to take full advantage of his situation in January.