According to the Daily Mirror, these are the top six players on Manchester United Manager Louis van Gaal’s wish list. We’ll see if Man United Executive Vice Chairman hands him another £150 million to work with to make this happen. The Mirror’s list is actually very very similar to the summer target list from The Telegraph. This list supposedly embodies an idea of emulating Real Madrid.
The philosophy is to have a superstar at every position (“Galacticos”) making Man United the “Van Galacticos.” Click on each name where highlighted for more on that player. These are in no particular order.
The Dani Alves to Manchester United transfer narrative has moved quite quickly. The 31-year-old Brazilian full-back has expressed his desire to leave Barcelona and play in the Premier League. The Fichajes.net website says that Alves would prefer a move to United and that they are still favorites to get a deal done
Robben says Van Gaal will get the club back to the Champions League “where they belong.” Robben plays under LVG on The Netherlands national team that finished third at the World Cup in Brazil. He believes the Iron Tulip is the perfect man to revive and restore the winning tradition at Old Trafford.
Mats Hummels
Maybe this one is just a matter of time and we need to be patient. We’ve heard him linked to Man United in the last two or three transfer windows as well as linked to numerous teams in various leagues across Europe.
Man United had offered £30 million and bonuses for Strootman, according to Roma Newspaper Il Tempo in June. Numerous publications list Strootman as Old Trafford’s top priority for the January transfer window.
Diego Godin
For what it’s worth, the manager of the player’s current team laughed this one off and tried to rubbish this rumor: ‘Godin for €20m? It must be a mistake!’ – Atletico Madrid Manager Diego Simeone. Of course, that could just be posturing for the cameras in order to drive the price up.
If he does come to Man United, he won’t come without a hefty price tag. In addition to the four Premier League sides (United, City, Arsenal, Liverpool) keen on Reus, two other European giants, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, are also throwing their hat into the Reus ring.
Also, The Guardian and Daily Mail report that the following Man United players are likely out the door at Old Trafford: Anders Lindegaard, Anderson, Nani, Javier Hernandez, Tom Cleverly, Nick Powell, Wilfried Zaha, Reece James and Michael Keane.
Also, The Telegraphs claims that David de Gea and Michael Carrick are set to be offered new contracts. Radamel Falcao’s loan move to Man United being made permanent remains a big question mark at this time.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net ,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2