Manchester United Transfer News: 'Bigger Targets' Than Pedro Eyed, Top Rumours
Manchester United are still hopeful of pulling off “something spectacular” in the final week of the summer transfer window and reportedly have “bigger targets” in mind than Pedro, who opted to join Chelsea from Barcelona instead of the Red Devils.
That’s according to Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail, who claims that Old Trafford executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward remains in “bullish mood” when it comes to potential dealings. “Don’t worry, we have bigger targets,” is the paraphrase of the message delivered to associates, as noted in the aforementioned piece. “The Pedro thing will eventually be forgotten.”
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Ladyman went on to outline United’s current standing on a plethora of potential high-profile deals:
"As United and the rest of Europe hurtle into the final week of another trading window, therefore, Woodward and his manager Louis van Gaal continue to aim high. Gossip in football circles continues to hold United at its core with the suggestion being that England’s biggest club crave something spectacular between now and next Tuesday.
Van Gaal has a liking for Bale in particular. If he could take one player from within Europe tomorrow then it would be Real Madrid’s Wales winger. He admires Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller also while suggestions that Woodward attempted to draw Barcelona into a rather ambitious conversation about the Brazilian Neymar have not been categorically denied.
All these remain fanciful, however, in terms of the current window at least and this represents United’s big problem.
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Gareth Bale, Thomas Muller or Neymar would certainly give everyone at Old Trafford a massive lift. The Red Devils have been a little one-dimensional in the final third so far this season and while Memphis Depay has shown flickers of world-class potential, there’s a lack of care and incision when it comes to United’s final ball.
As we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports News HQ, Van Gaal’s side have been toothless in front of goal this season:
But as Ladyman alluded to, those deals are extremely unlikely to come off at this late stage in the window, meaning United may pursue other avenues. The mercurial but ageing Zlatan Ibrahimovic is mentioned as a potential option, although the Red Devils reportedly have “no interest” in him, while former Milan prodigy Alexandre Pato is also suggested, even though he’d be an underwhelming target.
Indeed, it's claimed that the only player who United currently have an "active" interest in is Southampton winger Sadio Mane. He's a player who would do little to sate supporters' desire for a superstar but would certainly add something different, per Squawka Football:
It’d be a major surprise to see any marquee name come in at this late stage. Granted, United are one of the biggest clubs in world football and they do command a unique allure. However, when chasing star players from the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, if those European juggernauts don’t want to sell, they don’t sell.
That’ll be a concern for United as the seconds tick down in the transfer window. As noted by Sam Pilger of FourFourTwo, aside from a midfield bristling with quality, the squad is currently lacking in plenty of areas:
Not bringing in Pedro could prove to be a major mistake on the part of the United hierarchy. The ex-Barcelona man has the thrust, experience, trickery and goalscoring pedigree to have made a massive difference at Old Trafford, making the apparent dithering when it came to his acquisition peculiar.
It’s a decision that will heap pressure on Van Gaal and Woodward to get a special player over the line in the last knockings of the window. You certainly wouldn’t write the prospect off, as we’ve seen some remarkable deals done previously during the most chaotic week on the football calendar, but United have left themselves a lot of work to do if they want to draft in a world-class talent.
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