A Dream Final Week of the January Transfer Window for Manchester United

The last few weeks have been anything but a dream for Louis van Gaal, as Manchester United's form has dipped significantly—but what would the week ahead look like if he could get everything he wanted out of the rest of the January transfer window?

In reality, of course, the Dutchman said in a press conference on 16 January, (h/t the Daily Mail): "I don’t think we shall be very active. Not many players at a certain level are available. I have also said when we have to buy a player he has to be better than our players who are playing now and that is a difficult job." 

Not that such a direct stance has led to a slow down in the grinding of the rumour mill, as a glance at last week's transfer tracker shows. Of all the rumours singled out there, the one which would fit into a dream scenario would be Luka Modric.

Modric is a player whose midfield talents have long caught the attention of United fans, starved of effective midfield play for much of the past few years.

Given how much difficulty United have had in getting the ball to their strikers recently, Modric would truly be a dream addition. Against Cambridge United, for example, Radamel Falcao, James Wilson and Robin van Persie had just 41 touches between them, per WhoScored.

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Starting the week with "Modric Monday" would certainly feel like a dream.

On Tuesday, Van Gaal could turn his attention to a problem area which hasn't gotten much attention due to all the other problem areas. Paul Hetherington of the Daily Star suggests Nathaniel Clyne is "emerging as the top target" to help with United's problematic right-back berth. 

If the Southampton youngster was to arrive at Carrington on Tuesday, he would offer Van Gaal options at right-back, where the Dutchman has been forced to deploy Antonio Valencia with extremely varying results.

Given this is a dream, on Wednesday, one of the transfer-rumour big guns would arrive. The Gareth Bale links have been repeatedly mentioned in the press, for example in the Express. 

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That article makes reference to David de Gea leaving for Real Madrid, but in this dream, De Gea would sign a new United contract for something between five and 15 years.

With the feel-good factor at an all-time high, Thursday would see the return of Paul Pogba. The former United man's self-evident quality means that he is consistently linked with a host of clubs. Simon Mullock of the Daily Mirror writes that United are planning to compete for Pogba's signature in the summer, but dreams mean not having to wait, so he will be wrapped up by midnight on the week's fourth day.

Transfer-rumour nostalgics will remember the heady days of a month or so ago, when United were being repeatedly linked with Kevin Strootman of AS Roma and Mats Hummels of Borrusia Dortmund. The rumours have not gone away, and last week Mike Keegan of the Mail Online suggested that both were still "on the radar," along with Clyne. 

In this particular dream, that radar shows the two who have not yet been signed joining Clyne at Carrington on Friday.

Saturday sees the business of spectacular signings interrupted by some actual football, as United beat Leicester City 7-0, thanks to hat-tricks from Bale and Falcao.

In the celebrations after the game, Falcao is signed permanently.

With the squad hugely improved, Sunday is spent taking a well-earned break, except for the business of finding a fee-paying destination for Anderson. When this is done, it becomes clear that this could only be happening in a dream, and United fans collectively wake up.

Upon waking, we discover that the Red Devils have, in fact, signed Seamus Coleman and Aleksandar Dragovic. All in all, that would make for a pretty good week.