Having enjoyed what some have called a crazy summer of spending in the transfer market, Manchester United fans got more accustomed than most to seeing new faces pose with the red and white scarf with beaming smiles all round.
With Anthony Martial arriving for a whopping £36 million on deadline day, becoming the world’s most expensive teenage signing ever in the process, United finally alleviated their lack of striking options having waved goodbye to Radamel Falcao, Robin van Persie and most recently Javier Hernandez this summer.
With Wayne Rooney previously entrusted with carrying the torch as United’s recognised number nine this season, only time will tell whether he’ll continue to battle away in that position or whether Martial’s arrival drops him back into his more familiar number 10 role.
That said, a striking trio of Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and James Wilson still doesn’t strike so much fear into opposition defences but it’ll do for now claim our resident Red Devils fans who are propping up the Football Transfer Tavern bar this evening.
Having also landed Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin and Sergio Romero, this list doesn’t include a new centre back that many United fans have been crying out for over the duration of the last couple of transfer windows.
Trailing after the signature of Nicolas Otamendi for much of the summer, cross-town rivals Manchester City eventually got their hands on the Argentine and if a long-term injury is suffered by the likes of Chris Smalling and Daley Blind, perhaps Louis van Gaal may have to look towards the free agent list to address certain squad shortfalls.
That’s why today we’ve devised a list of five players that are still free to complete a move as we continue on through September after deadline day.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 free agents that Man United could still sign this September.
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Urby Emanuelson
Having represented the likes of Ajax, AC Milan and Roma in his career to date, Urby Emanuelson hasn’t been shy of playing in some of the great cathedrals of European football at a high level so it must be all the more depressing for the 29-year-old that he currently finds himself on the free agent list.
Much like fellow countryman Daley Blind, Emanuelson is one of those players who is seemingly content to do a job wherever he is deployed with the player equally adept at performing at left back, left midfield and even in central midfield too.
A jack of all trades, perhaps Louis van Gaal would look towards players hailing from his home nation of the Netherlands if he were pressed into needing an emergency option from the free agent market and looking at the list in its current form, Emanuelson is one of the more experienced members on that roster.
Emanuelson has previous experience of playing in England too, albeit for a short period on loan at Fulham in the 2012/13 season where he racked up 13 appearances for the Cottagers.
Ron Vlaar
Most definitely one of Louis van Gaal’s most reliable squad members for the Netherlands at last summer’s World Cup in Brazil, what hasn’t been reliable for Ron Vlaar since is his poor record with injuries.
Currently finding himself on the free agent list due to another serious knock, Vlaar is still recovering from his latest setback yet could represent a viable option for the likes of United later in the season.
Someone van Gaal knows extremely well while knowing how to get the best out of him to boot, we think that Vlaar would be the immediate plan B option should either Phil Jones or Marcos Rojo succumb to the treatment table again long-term with United then being short on numbers at centre back.
Ashley Cole
Now we know what you’re thinking; his Roma spell was an absolute disaster with the player being well past his sell-by date but would Ashley Cole be that terrible a character to be around the dressing room as a utility squad member?
If you think about it for longer than a second, Luke Shaw is United’s only real out-and-out option at left back with second and third choices Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo representing half options so perhaps Cole could do a job as another body and someone who could act as a mentor to Shaw on the training field.
If the truth be told, Cole is one of the best left backs England have ever produced and while it didn’t work out for him in Serie A with Roma, prior to his Stadio Olimpico switch not so long ago, there were calls for him to be given a place on England’s World Cup plane bound for Brazil.
A controversial choice on our countdown of course considering he used to play for United’s rivals Chelsea and Arsenal but a standout name on the current free agent list nonetheless.
Chinedu Obasi
We saw in the transfer market this summer that the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham really struggled to find enough viable options at centre forward with top quality strikers in short supply.
We all now know that United had to pay over the odds to bring Anthony Martial to Old Trafford from Monaco but that said, even though he received the number nine shirt, he wasn’t always deployed as a true centre forward in his time in Ligue 1.
Performing against Arsenal in the Champions League on the wing last season, Wayne Rooney has also grown more adept at playing in the number 10 role as his career has progressed and with these two half striker options and no true experienced out-and-out option being around at present, this has United fans worrying a smidgen.
When looking at the current free agent list, out-and-out striking options such as Carlton Cole and Shola Ameobi obviously wouldn’t do – imagine the stick – but one man who does boast Champions League experience at least is Nigerian international Chinedu Obasi.
Released by Schalke at the end of last season, Obasi’s goalscoring record wasn’t great but he’d at least be another striking body in the ranks although at the same time, he’s been deployed as a winger in the past too.
Sometimes you just can’t win!
Dwight Tiendalli
The third Dutch international on our free agents list that may receive a passing glance from the Manchester United hierarchy if an emergency solution is required is former Swansea City full back Dwight Tiendalli.
Now while Tiendalli was a utility member of Swansea’s squad – let alone Manchester United – and loaned to Championship outfit Middlesbrough for game time last season, he has strangely been in and around the Netherlands’ international squad in the past few seasons despite now being 29-years-old.
This would suggest that despite his current status, he is still highly rated by some inside the Netherlands’ camp although with Antonio Valencia now seen as more of a right back nowadays, if any serious injury was indeed suffered by Matteo Darmian, United would probably be able to cope with Chris Smalling capable of slotting across to full back also.
