United fans here in the Tavern pose a sense of excitement, as the saviour of the January transfer window edges ever closer.

Juan Mata and Manchester United have shared similar feelings over the duration of the season, a sense of frustration. The Spanish attacker has been unlucky to find himself in the midst of a United squad filled with such an array of quality. For a player who always used to be banked on as the go to man in a creative sense, seems to have turned out to be the forgotten man.

But as the player edges nearer to the end of his contract with the Manchester side, Real Madrid have ignited an interest in the Spanish attacker as they look to swoop for him in January.

Jose Mourinho has always chopped and changed his side, as he seems to be more focused on how the opposition sets up opposed to his team playing to their strengths.

After the signing of Henrik Mkhitaryan last season, Mata must have always had an incline in the back of his mind that this could be his possible replacement. To be perfectly honest, this is exactly how it turned out to be, as the Armenian is seemingly a part of Mourinho’s plans.

Although a sloppy start to proceedings in the Premier League may have hampered some fans spirits, they are still going strong in the Champions League with a 100% win percentage. So for a team in such a promising position in Europe, the January transfer window will be one that Mourinho will be keen to make use of.

So for any of the fringe and underachieving United players, this spells trouble.

Here’s TWO United players that could potentially follow Mata out of the door…

Marouane Fellaini

The Belgian giant has been one of the most frustrating signings for the Red Devils. After joining from fellow Premier League side Everton, Marouane Fellaini hasn’t enjoyed the best of times with the club in what has been a love-hate relationship with the fans.

In what is his fifth season with the club, he’s only managed 96 appearances. The majority of these have been configured in his early days under previous managers, such as his father like figure David Moyes.

But as reality hits back, Mourinho opts to drop the midfielder to the bench as some unneeded negatives creep into his game. Inconsistency and aggressive traits to be precise, the flying elbow has been brought into fashion with flashes of red being seen at times from the Belgian.

So for an unreliable player like Fellaini, the exit door seems the best option while United make space for potential arrivals.

Matteo Darmian

The Italian wing-back has been used fairly frequently during his time with United, whether its right back, left back or wing back he’s always tried his best. But the sad reality sometimes is that someone’s best might not be good enough and this is the case. A flurry of disappointing performances of late has been the downfall, in one of his limited chances to prove exactly what he can do for Mourinho.

For a player that hasn’t lived up to the United legacy, his contract is set to run out in 2018 which makes it vital that Mourinho can conjure up some money for the defender instead of seeing him walk away, with an extension looking unlikely.

Italian defenders have always been known for their solidity and dogged like approach, so at maybe at a club elsewhere Matteo Darmian will rediscover his form.

So United fans, thoughts