Manchester United Transfer News: Juan Mata Key to Miranda, Kevin Strootman Deals

Juan Mata's Manchester United future appears in major doubt, as reports continue to surface suggesting the Spaniard will be used to lure either Kevin Strootman or Miranda to Old Trafford.

Mata was brought in by David Moyes during the January transfer window and is suggested to be surplus to requirements by talkSPORT host Stan Collymore.

Although Roma have made it clear Strootman isn't for sale, per Stuart Fraser of the Daily Mail, Collymore believes United will tempt the Italian side at the next possible opportunity, as noted in his B/R UK guest column:

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I've been speaking to a number of agents around Europe, and it's pretty clear to me Juan Mata will be offered in part-exchange for Roma's Kevin Strootman in the January window.

[...] Jose Mourinho offloaded Mata from Chelsea because he couldn't add to the team effort, defensively at least. Louis van Gaal feels the same way.

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Collymore also suggested Mata is "being put in the shop window" and that "he'll be gone as soon as the right opportunity presents itself."

United's midfield is crying out for a well-rounded destructive type, someone who can both dictate the pace of play and break it up when working without the ball. Strootman has proven himself during spells in the Eredivisie and Serie A, not to mention under Louis van Gaal in the Netherlands setup.

Unlike the Arturo Vidal rumours, which refused to go away without acknowledgement from United, Strootman is someone Van Gaal is willing to speak about. Back in July, the United boss indicated he would be monitoring the midfielder's return from injury.

"We have to wait and see how he comes back," said Van Gaal, per Sky Sports. "It's not so easy to come back out of an injury, so we'll wait and see."

Ander Herrera and Daley Blind have settled well into United's midfield, but neither offer the fail-safe style of Strootman.

The former PSV Eindhoven star naturally brings team-mates into play and has the physicality to rough it with the Premier League's best. Strootman has a long way to go if he is to reach the standards set before his injury—which saw the player ruled out of the World Cup—but Van Gaal has proven he knows how to get the best out of the 24-year-old.

Ben Jefferson of the Express believes Mata could be used to lure Atletico Madrid's Miranda to the club instead. While the target has changed, the story remains the same. Mata was recently dropped from the United line-up, despite scoring regularly for the club, with the arrival of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao ensuring it will be difficult to hold down a starting place.

Falcao's position in the team saw Wayne Rooney pushed into Mata's No.10 role, leaving the former Valencia man uncertain of when he will next start. Miranda "would be open to joining United" according to Jefferson, and could tighten up a defensive line that continues to limit the side's chances of success. 

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The experienced Brazilian is a key member of Diego Simeone's title-winning squad and proved himself a leader in the Rojiblancos' run to last season's Champions League final.

United need cool heads at the back and may be forced to overpay for experience, something Miranda can offer at 30 years old. Make no mistake about it, he would be a short-term solution to replacing Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, as Van Gaal must also outline prospects he can rely on in the longer term.

Suggestions that Gerard Pique could also arrive have died down, per Charlie Skillen of the Daily Mail. Even so, Van Gaal needs to act quickly once the January transfer window opens and should strive to bring in world-class quality who can organise United's defence as soon as possible.

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His previous inability to do so will see the team line up with Marcos Rojo as the only senior centre-back against West Ham on Saturday, per Sky Sports. Such negligence during the summer window is coming back to haunt a side who look like they can score for fun, but will always be pegged back by inexperience and poor quality in their own half.

Mata may need to be sacrificed to fix this, a potential exit that highlights the difficulty of changing managers during a transitional time.