Anderson Reportedly to Be Sold by Manchester United in January Transfer Window

Anderson's time at Old Trafford appears to be nearing an end, with the Daily Star's Jeremy Cross predicting a January transfer for the Brazilian.

Manchester United are reportedly eager to offload the midfielder and will consider offers of £8 million for his signature.

Cross quotes a club source as saying: "Anderson isn't up to the standards required. He just hasn't fulfiled his potential. If someone makes a decent bid for him in January he will be sold."

Anderson joined United in 2007 from Porto, in a substantial deal of around £25 million, per David McDonnell of the Daily Mirror.

Despite the odd impressive performance, most notably against Steven Gerrard during his first season, the 25-year-old has never fully established himself in the Premier League.

Injuries have been a huge issue, punctuating his Old Trafford career. He's suffered recurring knee complaints and a ruptured cruciate ligament in 2010.

In over six years in England he's only managed 100 Premier League appearances, with a third of them coming as a substitute, but he's never found consistency when actually on the field.

Anderson's prospects haven't improved with David Moyes' arrival. While he was included in some early fixtures, he's become familiarly peripheral at the club, missing out on recent European trips without much explanation.

He was last seen playing for the club's Under-21s against Everton, in his latest attempt to find form and fitness.

Marouane Fellaini's arrival certainly crowds the midfield, but Cross anticipates Anderson's sale freeing funds for another midfielder, with United still struggling in that area of the field.

The Brazilian is believed to be on £60,000 per week, according to Cross, having signed a five-year contract extension in 2010, freeing up room to manoeuvre.

Given Anderson's initial fee, this apparent flogging of his services would represent a colossal failure in the transfer market, putting increased pressure on the board to find value in any replacement.

Indeed, the entire summer transfer window of 2007—with Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Carlos Tevez also added—hasn't quite shaped the future the way the club originally envisioned.