The transfer window is officially open in England, and the top clubs are set to jump right into the action.
Manchester United’s woes at the back from last season means that Louis van Gaal is almost sure to sign at least a couple of defenders. Names such as Sergio Ramos and Jerome Boateng have been mentioned among others, but a report today has suggested that Van Gaal may go with a slightly more low-profile option.
According to the Netherlands’ largest-selling daily De Telegraaf, United are in the market for two Dutch players – defender Stefan de Vrij from Lazio and goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen from Ajax.
A big reason for this is that the move for Sergio Ramos looks certain to fall through. The Red Devils are only willing to offer €35 million for the 29 year-old, but Real Madrid are asking for an amount in the region of €90 million. Therefore, it looks very unlikely that that deal will go forward.
De Vrij is a defender Van Gaal has been tracking since last summer, and made lots of attempts to bring him to Old Trafford from Feyenoord. The youngster though, who had only just played under Van Gaal for the Dutch national side at the World Cup in Brazil, chose to a move to Serie A instead.
But United have still not lost hope of luring the 23 year-old to the Premier League, and with the other options looking bleak, they may be in a situation where they simply have to sign him.
David De Gea’s move to Madrid is all but done and it looks like Van Gaal isn’t happy with Victor Valdes as the first-choice. He has therefore turned his sights to another compatriot in Cillessen. The 26 year-old has become a regular for both club and country in the past couple of seasons, and a move to one of the biggest clubs in Europe will be a huge step in his career.
The report has also stated that United’s move for Morgan Schneiderlin is very close to going through, something that will surely please the fans a lot. The French central midfielder is tenacious and hard in the tackle, while also being an extremely intelligent passer. These are qualities that the club missed in the centre of the park last season, and an improvement from this addition will be noticeable right from the off.
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