A matter of months ago, few outsiders would have foreseen Manchester United heading into Christmas still in touch with the title race and into the semi-finals of the League Cup.
The optimism of Wednesday night’s 2-0 victory over Everton may have been dashed a little by the most unfavourable draw possible pitting United against Manchester City.
Nevertheless, it’s been a strong finale to a year in which it so often looked as if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would not last the duration. Those damning early season defeats to Crystal Palace and Tottenham, and even the more recent Champions League exit at the hands of RB Leipzig, now seem a long way off.
The frailties which those results revealed have still not been entirely forgotten. United are still expected to be active in the January transfer market, with their attacking midfield seemingly a priority.
Odion Ighalo’s loan spell will come to an end next month and while Edinson Cavani, who opened the scoring and was named Man of the Match in the Carabao Cup quarter-final last night, has largely replaced him, it’s still possible that United will also bring in another striker.
Here are the latest rumours on who the Red Devils will look to bring in.
Ratings key: 1/5 = Very unlikely. 5/5 = He’s on his way.
Amad Diallo
United initially announced the £19m signing of Atalanta winger Amad Diallo back in October, but allowed him to stay in Serie A for the first half of the season.
The deal has since been complicated by the announcement of new rules regarding overseas players after Brexit. It’s hoped the 18-year-old Ivorian will be granted a work permit via his Italian passport and it should be no more than a minor hiccup en route to Old Trafford.
Likelihood of him signing in January: 5/5
Moises Caicedo
Caicedo comes with the blessing of compatriot and former Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia. The midfielder has already attracted inevitable comparisons with Paul Pogba, but one immediate advantage he has over the Frenchman is that there will be no price-tag related pressure.
The 19-year-old is expected to cost just £5.5million from Independiente del Valle – reports that a fee has already been agreed are, as yet, unsubstantiated. While it might seem curious that he is being signed from the Ecuadorian league, he has also made four international appearances in World Cup qualifiers, recently scoring his first goal for his country against Uruguay.
Likelihood of him signing in January: 4/5
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
The Athletic report that Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is seen as one alternative to Erling Haaland, an even more ambitious target. Calvert-Lewin, who has scored 11 Premier League goals this season, is under contract at Everton until 2025 and would seem unwise to leave the sanctuary of working under Carlo Ancelotti.
Both frontmen are likely to be unattainable given the fees attached, with the Everton striker valued at £75 million. As for Haaland, the reports of his low release clause when he first joined Borussia Dortmund were wide of the mark and it will in fact not be enacted until 2022 at the earliest.
Likelihood of him signing in January: 1/5
Jack Grealish
The Mirror report that Aston Villa are expecting United to make a bid, but that it is not expected until the summer.
The England international is likely to spark a bidding war between a number of clubs having already scored six goals and assisted another six in all competitions so far this season.
Grealish would be an asset to United’s midfield playing just behind the forward in a 4-2-3-1, but the prospect of Villa letting him go partway through the campaign seems farfetched.
Likelihood of him signing in January: 2/5
Kieran Trippier
Rumours first began to circulate in Spain that Trippier could join United after reviving his career with his move to Atletico Madrid from Tottenham.
However, any deal taking him back to the Premier League has likely been scuppered in the short term following confirmation the right-back will be banned for 10 weeks for breaching betting regulations.
Likelihood of him signing in January: 0/5
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