Manchester United Transfer News: Latest on Paul Pogba and Diego Godin

January is typically not a time when managers splash big money on players, but every now and then you get an exceptional window.

Manchester United broke their transfer record to bring Juan Mata to the club a year ago, and the Red Devils could spend in excess of £30 million to again bolster their squad next month, according Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News.

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Defensive options have long been touted as the area of the team in which the vast majority of this money should be spent, and Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin is a player that has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford.

The Uruguayan would be an ideal candidate to add some needed steel to United’s ropey back line, but he seems to have dashed any prospects of a January move by insisting his future remains with the Spanish champions.

After that, Godin claims that he is looking at making a return to his homeland, per Richard Tanner of the Daily Express:

"

Time will tell, it is difficult to know where I will be playing in the future but I would like to stay many years with Atletico.

At this point, I feel that I'm in the of my career and I see my retirement as a long way off.

But it is true that I also have an attraction from my country and at any point in the future I would like to return to Uruguay, to respond to the love they have showed me during my career.

"

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According to Tanner, the 28-year-old defender has a £28.5 million release clause in his Atletico contract. While that would take up the baulk of United’s reported January budget, there’s little doubt it would be money well spent.

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague took a look at what Godin would potentially bring to United:

Godin was integral to the Rojiblancos’ title triumph last season, marshalling an unforgiving Atletico back four with a real purpose and physicality. He also made a habit of scoring vital goals, including strikes in both Atletico’s title-winning draw against Barcelona at the Camp Nou and the Champions League final. He also scored the goal that sent Uruguay through to the knockout stages of the World Cup.

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Goals are a mere bonus, though. Godin has blossomed into one of the finest central defenders on the planet, and according to ESPN’s Dermot Corrigan, he was unlucky not to be considered among the nominations for the Ballon d’Or award:

If United meet the reported release clause, there’s little Atletico can do about it. However, with the player so abundantly clear in his desire to stay with the Spanish champions—where he has enjoyed four exceptional seasons—it looks very unlikely that a deal will happen in January.

That news may have the United supporters looking ahead to bigger targets in the summer window, as will reports suggesting that the Red Devils are keen on bringing Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba back to Old Trafford in what would be a money-spinning deal.

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According to Anthony Chapman of the Express, the French midfielder—reportedly valued at £70 million by the Bianconeri—is on the radar of both United and Chelsea, who will go head-to-head for his services when the window opens at the end of the season.

Since leaving the Red Devils back in 2012, Pogba has blossomed into arguably the most multi-faceted midfielder on the planet. His qualities of purpose, poise and brute power have seen him dominate Serie A midfields during the past few seasons, and he’s a player that’s been vital to Juve’s recent dominance in the race for the Scudetto.

Here’s a look at why United will have surely regretted letting Pogba walk away from the club:

It’s difficult to see any transfer involving the player happening, though. The 21-year-old has recently committed his future to the Bianconeri in the form of a new five-year contract, and he seems very settled in Turin.

As a player, he’s growing as the weeks go by, meaning the best thing for his development at the moment would be to stay in Italy.

There’s little denying that Pogba would better the midfields of both Chelsea and United, but at the moment he’s a player that looks out of reach, even for a club that commands a lure as tantalisingly irrepressible as the Red Devils.