Manchester United Transfer News: Ander Herrera Move May Save David Moyes' Window

In what would be a surprise move this late in the summer transfer market, Athletic Bilbao’s Ander Herrera has cropped up as a target for Manchester United in recent days.

The young Spaniard was the subject of a rejected €30 million bid from the Premier League champions earlier this week, according to Mark Ogden of the Daily Telegraph.

However, United boss David Moyes isn't ready to give up on Herrera’s signature just yet and could convince the powers that be to put up the necessary funds to trigger the midfielder’s €36 million (£30.5m) release clause.

Opta tweeted Herrera's impressive tackling statistics from last term:

It helps that, per the Guardian's Jamie Jackson, Herrera is open to the move. If anything, it shows fine moral fibre that the 24-year-old is not willing to force the move from his hometown team.

While perhaps not the physical, engine-room presence that United appear to need, Herrera is another well-rounded transfer target who offers versatility in central midfield.

Primarily a playmaker, the Basque talent’s style centres largely around creation, although he does have the physical attributes necessary to play in the English top flight.

According to Squawka, Herrera won 63 percent of his duels last season. A tally of 37 chances created appears questionable considering just two of those opportunities were converted into goals, although that could be down to the lack of a reliable striking talent at the club last season.

The deal would rival the Red Devils’ current transfer record, so Herrera would be lumped with the weight of expectation were he to become a United player this summer.

This is especially odd considering the midfielder might be largely unknown to some of those outside La Liga, where only the more successful sides and their stars tend to gain attention.

However, despite Athletic's rocky 2012-13 campaign, Herrera is one of the more promising assets under Ernesto Valverde’s command and could make the Spanish national side with better players around him.

Were he to arrive at Old Trafford, Herrera’s most immediate competition for a place would most likely be Tom Cleverley. Given the dilemma around Shinji Kagawa’s recent omissions, Moyes seems as unlikely as his predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson to field a central attacking midfield option, meaning Herrera may not get too much time in his preferred position either.

At just 24, the former Spanish U21 talisman can still grow to become a key component in something bigger than what he’s currently engineering at his beloved Athletic Club.