Manchester United Transfer News: Latest on Gareth Bale, Angel Di Maria and More

Manchester United's incredible summer shopping spree has fans and pundits fantasising which star players the club may be targeting next, with seemingly unlimited funds available for another productive transfer window in January.

The Red Devils' start to the 2014-15 season has been up and down, as expected, and certain media outlets are already speculating about potential departures as well. As a result, the bulk of this week's rumours seem to focus on swap deals, with some wild theories being spouted in the British press.

The Daily Express' Ben Jefferson claims Spanish sources know Carlo Ancelotti is contemplating a trade to bring back Angel Di Maria, for instance, sacrificing Gareth Bale in the process.

Jefferson knows Ancelotti was left disappointed with Bale's effort in Real Madrid's 1-0 Champions League win over Liverpool, as well as his tactical limitations:

"

Bale's place in Carlo Ancelotti's plans has been called into question due to the Welsh winger's lack of tactical discipline.

Isco impressed Ancelotti with his ability to follow his coaches instructions and the way his tracking back helped execute Real's defensive scheme.

And reports in Spain suggest that the Italian was again frustrated by Bale's performance against Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

"

Bale only recently returned from injury, making a cameo appearance against Liverpool before an expected start this Saturday against Rayo Vallecano. It's hard to believe Ancelotti would contemplate such extreme measures after one substitute appearance.

As shared by Real Madrid TV's Phil Kitromilides, the Italian manager remains a fan of his Welsh winger:

Bale is not a perfect fit for the 4-4-2 formation Los Blancos have used to great success in the past few weeks, but a move away from the Spanish capital still seems highly unlikely.

Even more unlikely is the reported target—Di Maria. The Argentina international left the club during the summer, in one of the ugliest transfer sagas fans have witnessed in the past few years.

Jon Super/Associated Press

The winger was one of the club's best players during the 2013-14 season, and Real's courtship of James Rodriguez didn't sit well with fans who believed Di Maria deserved better. Manchester United broke the bank to get their man, and the 26-year-old has been one of the club's top performers ever since.

United legend Paul Scholes thinks he looks unhappy in Manchester, as he wrote in a column for The Independent:

"

My concern is that the mood among the United players feels a bit low-key. Preparing for the broadcast of the game in Madrid this week, I watched reruns of last season and Angel Di Maria smiling broadly as he celebrated goal after goal with Cristiano Ronaldo. He doesn’t seem to be in the same happy mood at United. It feels downbeat among the team.

"

Di Maria's mood appears to have more to do with the Red Devils' lack of consistent results, rather than an unwillingness to play in Manchester. He is yet to speak out negatively on his new situation, so there is little reason to believe he's open to a new transfer already.

A return to Real seems out of the question after everything that happened during the summer, even if Ancelotti liked the Argentine's contributions in his system.

A more realistic trade target would be stopper David De Gea, who has reportedly decided his Manchester future hinges on Champions League qualification, per the Daily Star's Alex Harris:

"

Veteran Real stopper Iker Casillas is set to leave the club next summer and De Gea is top of their list of replacements.

It was believed that De Gea was negotiating a new contract at Old Trafford but progress has been slow and reports in Spain today suggest he could make the move to the Bernabeu if United fail to qualify for next season's Champions League.

"

If Ancelotti is open to the idea of moving Bale, Spain international De Gea would be the most logical and realistic target. Los Blancos brought in Keylor Navas during the summer, but De Gea's 2014-15 form indicates he will soon be counted among the top players in the world at the position, the kind of asset Florentino Perez wants.

The 24-year-old deserves to play in the Champions League, so it isn't out of the question to suggest he could present the Red Devils with an ultimatum.

All of this remains speculation until any of the three players actually speaks out, however. Speculating about the relationship between Ancelotti and Bale, Di Maria's unhappiness or De Gea's ultimatum is easy, but as long as the current situations don't change, any of these swap deals still appears highly unlikely to materialise.

Follow @ReverschPass