Manchester United Transfer Rumors: Leighton Baines Solid Plan B to Ashley Cole

Manchester United is a defensive upgrade away from being the Premier League favorite.

According to the latest transfer rumors, Man Utd continues to shuffle through potential options. While Lucas Moura is ideal, that route seems to have disappeared. With Ashley Cole’s contract not set to expire for another 12 months, Leighton Baines is the Red Devils’ best bet.

While Man Utd continues to be linked to Baines, Harry Harris of ESPN reported that Sir Alex Ferguson has yet to make an offer. An Everton source said:

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We have not even had a single enquiry from Manchester United. Every week we are asked the same question, but it is the same answer, and we are getting a touch fed up with it. For two months it has been suggested that Manchester United have bid for Baines, but it is simply not true.

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Cole is a defensive legend and in the short term, is a better option than Baines. But in the short term, as in this season, he isn’t an option. That’s why, unless a door to Moura reopens, Baines is Man Utd’s best shot to improve.

And because of that, an offer should be on its way.

Baines played phenomenal last season. He was such a force that the Professional Footballers' Association voted him onto the Team of the Year.

Signing Baines and Shinji Kagawa isn’t as impactful as signing Eden Hazard and Moura like the Red Devils would’ve loved to pull off, but the acquisitions would still be enough to earn Man Utd a Premier League title.

Last year, they were just one win away from the crown. Baines and Kawaga have more than enough talent to eliminate the gap, if there ever was one, between them and Manchester City.

Ferguson will likely make just one more move before the transfer window closes. He must make that move count. If he pulls the trigger on Baines, that would qualify as making it count.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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