Manchester United Transfer News: Mats Hummels Deal to Justify January Washout

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward made it clear the club is overlooking the January transfer window in favour of making big moves next summer, and Borussia Dortmund's Mats Hummels will be one of the players at the top of Louis van Gaal's list.

As reported by the Daily Star's Alex Harris, the Red Devils will face competition from Arsenal for the Germany international, but United will resist the temptation to spend during the winter in order to land the £47 million-rated star defender.

Fans were wondering what kind of moves the club would make in January following a busy summer window that saw plenty of world-class talent arrive at Old Trafford, and Woodward provided some answers in a conference call on Tuesday, saying:

"

We are not looking to enter the market for short-term fixes.

However we have targets that we are looking at for next summer. Should any of them become available in January - which obviously is rare – we will consider acting. But in terms of expectations-setting we all need to recognise that is a low probability.

"

United suffered a difficult start to the 2014-15 campaign but with a lot of turnover in the squad and the appointment of a new manager, some early struggles were always expected. The club has rebounded nicely since then, and Van Gaal's men currently sit just two points outside of the Champions League spots, via WhoScored.com.

Qualification for next year's Champions League is seen as a must, but Woodward is unwilling to spend big in the January window for the sole purpose of filling one or two short-term needs and obtaining said goal.

While fans would undoubtedly be disappointed should the club fail to qualify for the Champions League in consecutive years, the arrival of Hummels would certainly make up for the inconvenience.

The 25-year-old is widely regarded as one of the top centre-backs in the world, a status he underlined with excellent performances at the 2014 World Cup. The 2014-15 season has been unkind to him, however, as he is currently sidelined with an injury, via Germany's official Twitter feed:

Dortmund have been hit hard by the injury bug, and the club have tumbled down the Bundesliga standings as a result, even briefly occupying last place before a pivotal win against Borussia Monchengladbach.

The club's ill fortunes have only added fuel to the transfer speculation, with top stars like Hummels and Marco Reus potentially looking to follow the example of Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze by leaving in search of silverware.

Several clubs were linked with a move for Hummels during the summer, but he told Bundesliga Magazine International (h/t Goal's Mark Doyle) money won't be a factor in a potential move:

"

It's nice to hear that big clubs like that are interested in you. I take that as a compliment. But it doesn't influence me in any way. We earn enough here in Dortmund.

There will always be someone who can pay more than BVB. But Dortmund have made a lot of progress during my time here.

In any case, I believe that it's enough for me. If one day I start thinking about playing abroad, money won't be the reason. But I don't even think about that at the moment. We still have so much further to go here.

"

Those words were spoken before Dortmund went on a five-match losing streak that only ended just before the international break, however, and it's not inconceivable to think the German may now believe his current club has reached its ceiling.

While £47 million is a large sum for a single defensive player, United have the financial ability to pull off such a move, even after Woodward confirmed revenue took a drop following the Red Devils' inability to qualify for European football, per Harris.

Van Gaal brought in Marcos Rojo during the summer, and while the Argentina international has enjoyed a fine start to life in the Premier League, Bleacher Report UK's Ryan Bailey and Manchester Evening News' Rob Dawson agree he needs a strong partner on the back line:

Hummels is only just reaching the prime of his football career and could anchor the club's back four for the better part of the next decade. As the marquee signing of the summer of 2015, he would give Van Gaal yet another world-class talent to build his new United squad around.