It’s taken quite a lot to bring the mood of our resident Manchester United fans down here in the Football Transfer Tavern after the treble signings of Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin recently.
However, following BBC Sport reporting quotes from Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez that Sergio Ramos will be staying at the Bernabeu this summer, this has left our resident Red Devils looking a little peeved.
In one of the most public pursuits of the transfer window so far, it is clear Louis van Gaal had designs on adding the vastly experienced Spanish international to his back line but that prospect now looks to have been a pipedream with Benitez categorically ruling out of a transfer.
Former Liverpool boss Benitez claimed: “I see Sergio as an integral part of our team. He’s a winner and that’s what we need.
“The president has already commented that he is staying with the club.”
While United have of course been busy in the transfer window already this summer, a lot still needs to be done with an alternative centre back required, not to mention a replacement for Robin van Persie.
Concentrating on the centre back situation today however, we’ve come up with a lost of five other targets van Gaal now needs to switch his attentions to.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 alternative Manchester United signings now Sergio Ramos is staying at Real Madrid.
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Inigo Martinez
Now while we imagine David Moyes won’t want to be doing Manchester United any favours any time soon, we still think Louis van Gaal should be looking to make dialogue regarding the signing of Real Sociedad’s Inigo Martinez.
Having performed over 120 times for Sociedad’s first team so far in his career, Martinez is still only 24-years-old, representing a player for the here and now, not to mention the future.
A previous target of Liverpool to boot, the Reds reportedly offered around 20 million euros for his services but with Martinez still at the Anoeta, it is clear the Basque side aren’t keen on giving their prized asset up on the cheap any time soon.
United haven’t been shy of splashing the cash around however and with Martinez’s release clause set at 30 million euros, you can’t imagine that the Red Devils would baulk at this fee in a way that Arsenal would do.
Nicolas Otamendi
A player on the lips of every Manchester United fan this summer, Nicolas Otamendi is the much fancied candidate to be signing up at Old Trafford next.
Now that Sergio Ramos is reported to be staying at the Bernabeu, expect Manchester United to pull out all of the stops to finally put the rumours regarding Otamendi to bed while securing a deal for the Valencia centre back.
With the Argentine having previously threatened to walk out on Valencia’s pre-season tour, not to mention being left out of Los Che’s latest kit launch, it appears Otamendi is negotiating a way out of the Mestalla as we speak.
A tough and uncompromising character, Otamendi boasts all of the attributes to succeed at United and when you consider his international team-mate Marcos Rojo is already a part of the squad, pairing these two together seems something of a no-brainer.
We don’t know what Chris Smalling and Phil Jones would make of that prospect however!
Daniele Rugani
One of the most impressive up-and-coming young centre backs in Europe, Daniele Rugani was expected to be a firm fixture in Juventus’ first team squad this season after the Bianconeri bought him outright following a spell at Empoli.
However, there have been recent reports linking Arsenal with a £15.4 million swoop for his services and when you consider Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci are still at Juventus Stadium, first team chances for Rugani will still prove hard to come by despite his improvements.
If Juve do decide to cash in on Rugani even before he stakes his claim with the Old Lady, we think Manchester United should also be in for his signature.
Having recently signed Matteo Darmian from Italian football and Torino of course, Rugani is 20-years-old and is arguably a prospect that could usurp the likes of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling in the next 18 months or so.
Ron Vlaar
With Ron Vlaar having enjoyed an absolutely fantastic World Cup last year, it may have seemed unfathomable that he’d now find himself in a position where he’d be a free agent midway through the transfer window.
While Aston Villa have offered a new contract to the Netherlands international, Vlaar has resisted so far, clearly in the belief that he can better himself at a side performing far higher up the table.
With Sergio Ramos now staying at Real Madrid, we wonder whether Louis van Gaal will be tempted to work with Vlaar again after their successful time spent together in Brazil in 2014.
Most Manchester United fans would rather see the club spend big on the likes of Otamendi rather than cutting corners with the ageing Vlaar but they do admit that it could prove a valuable option as the window drags on.
Marquinhos
Make no mistake; it’ll take a lot of money for Manchester United to successfully prise Marquinhos away from Paris Saint-Germain this summer but the Red Devils have something the French side want, don’t they?
This comes in the form of Angel Di Maria who with each passing day looks like a player who the Red Devils will be giving up upon after a disappointing first season spent in English football.
With PSG strangely yet to make a marquee move this summer, you can imagine Laurent Blanc is pinning all of his hopes on landing Di Maria and with Memphis Depay now having arrived at Old Trafford, perhaps Louis van Gaal will cash in.
If United do have designs on selling Di Maria to the Parc Des Princes, we think they should be including Marquinhos in the dialogue.
The Brazilian centre back has been unable to dislodge the partnership of David Luiz and Thiago Silva and would definitely be a starter at Old Trafford. This will be one to watch in the next few weeks.
