At the time of writing, Manchester United were embarking on a home fixture with Swansea City to see in the New Year while hopefully finally grabbing three points that are oh so in need to arrest Louis van Gaal’s dramatic slump.
With Red Devils supporters having seen positive signs in United’s last game against Chelsea where the team did everything but score in a 0-0 draw, fans would’ve headed to yesterday’s game with more confidence.
That said, we’ve become used to the Swans being a thorn in United’s side with the Welsh team having previously recorded three consecutive 2-1 victories over the Red Devils prior to yesterday’s head-to-head.
In those games, Bafetimbi Gomis has proved a menace but in the cold light of day, it’s teams like Swansea City that Manchester United should easily have the beating of.
Unfortunately the fear factor has been eradicated at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and there’s absolutely no doubt that van Gaal needs to further strengthen this Red Devils team to convince the doubters that he still knows what he’s doing.
With the January transfer window officially open as of yesterday, we’re today taking a look at the five most believable Manchester United rumours we’ve heard by the bar so far.
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Click on the image below to reveal the five most believable Manchester United January transfer rumours so far.
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Riyad Mahrez
Now before you go and claim that Riyad Mahrez is happy and settled at Leicester City like the player himself alluded to in recent weeks, there seems to be some developments that may hint otherwise.
The Mirror reported recently that the Foxes have won the race for Birmingham City’s incredibly sought-after winger Demarai Gray who plays on the flanks like Mahrez funnily enough.
A tricky player by similarity, you can’t help but feel Claudio Ranieri’s side are making an early move to ensure their flanks are adequately covered with quality should an irresistible bid come in for Mahrez late in the window.
This irresistible move could come from United with Louis van Gaal desperately in need of flair players such as Mahrez who can get Red Devils fans off their seats with his team having been labelled boring earlier this campaign.
Lucas Biglia
Manchester United supporters are well accustomed to seeing their side linked with Lucas Biglia nowadays with the Argentine international having been reportedly close to signing back in the summer.
With the Daily Star reporting lately that United are still hot on £25 million-rated Biglia with Liverpool keen too, it seems obvious that it’s a case of no smoke without fire.
Everybody knows that Michael Carrick’s Old Trafford career is drawing to a close and with the likes of Marouane Fellaini surely on their last couple of chances with each passing appearance of late, the arrival of a new top class central midfielder such as Biglia seems feasible.
While his current club Lazio won’t want to part with him, the reports claim £25 million would be too much for the Italian side to turn down and with United having become used to splashing lavish fees such as this more often in recent times, we believe it’s a deal that has some legs.
Sadio Mane
Nobody is claiming the January transfer window is an easy period to navigate with clubs charging a premium for their better players but we still think a United deal for Southampton’s Sadio Mane is still possible.
We hear time and again from the Saints how they’re determined to keep hold of their prized assets yet every now and again, there seems a final giving in from Ronald Koeman and the board before the likes of Nathaniel Clyne, Morgan Schneiderlin or Luke Shaw are finally sold.
In the last two players, United have of course managed to wager deals for them with the south coast club in recent times and this could prove key in negotiations for Mane.
The latest from The Mirror is that United are looking at the Senegalese international again this month and as we’ve seen down the years, when clubs aggressively go after the Saints’ best players, deals can be reached.
Saido Berahino
Back in November, Manchester United were credited with an interest in West Bromwich Albion contract rebel Saido Berahino.
Make no mistake; Tottenham are the red hot favourites for Berahino’s signature but we think that if Manchester United struggle in their attempts to land alternative forwards, they could then go in for the England Under-21 international.
Spurs were denied a move for Berahino late in the summer transfer window and with Tony Pulis having relegated the forward to the Albion bench for the last month or so, it appears the writing is finally on the wall for the 22-year-old at The Hawthorns.
Tottenham only really have Harry Kane as an out-and-out forward in their ranks and considering Clinton N’Jie is now injured, you can imagine Spurs won’t be wasting any more time in sanctioning another bid for Berahino.
That said, United’s need for an additional striker is great too and in a straight fight between both clubs, we think United will pay more money than Daniel Levy and Spurs.
It’ll just be a case of where the player believes he’ll gain more game time with Berahino surely unhappy at having been a bit-part player for the past four weeks.
Ayoze Perez
Now while Newcastle United’s Ayoze Perez has claimed himself that he is happy to stay at St James’ Park, we’ve also read recently that the player has revealed Manchester United’s interest in him.
With this being concrete enough evidence to suggest a potential Red Devils bid is on the way, in a window whereby top class strikers such as Romelu Lukaku are always hard to sign, an up-and-coming talent such as Ayoze looks a sensible purchase.
Given the player is settled, this deal will be difficult to pull off but we think that if we believed everything footballers ever said in the game, we’d be rather foolish because things can change and fast – especially in January.
Newcastle aren’t going anywhere fast and a switch to the likes of Manchester United would immediately boost Ayoze’s kudos back in his native Spain.
And who knows, if he impressed in more expectant surroundings, perhaps he could be an outside bet to reach Vicente del Bosque’s Spanish squad for Euro 2016 because lets face it, Chelsea’s Diego Costa hasn’t been at the races so far in 2015/16!
