Manchester United Transfer News: Ashley Cole Rumours Sparked by Luke Shaw Injury

Former Chelsea and Arsenal star Ashley Cole has been touted as a surprise target for Manchester United after left-back Luke Shaw suffered an horrific double leg break on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old Englishman—who has performed brilliantly in the early stages of the new season—was injured in United's 2-1 Champions League loss to PSV Eindhoven and is set to be sidelined for six months, per Jamie Jackson in the Guardian.

The diagnosis sparked wild rumours that Cole may be brought in on a free transfer from Roma as a short-term fix, but Kevin Palmer in the Irish Independent indicated the reports are wide of the mark.

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As noted by Palmer, 34-year-old Cole is out of favour in Roma, but would have to buy himself out of the final year of his contract if he wanted to move for free, and could only then do so come January.

Furthermore, it is unlikely that Cole would be welcomed by the Old Trafford faithful, nor would he potentially still be good enough to cut it in the Premier League.

Shaw's injury is a huge blow for United manager Louis van Gaal as he had shown stunning form in 2015-16 following a difficult first term at Old Trafford after his move from Southampton, per football writer Henry Winter:

However, the Red Devils do have some decent back-up in the position in the shape of Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo.

Van Gaal will surely be loath to move Blind from the centre-back role in which he has been excelling, most recently in Saturday's 3-1 victory over Liverpool, per Bleacher Report's Graham Ruthven:

The 25-year-old Rojo—who has yet to start a game this season—is the man likely to benefit from Shaw's absence, and he will be desperate to prove his worth in the left-back role.

United cannot afford to lose another member of their back line to injury as they currently only have five senior defenders fit—Rojo, Blind, Matteo Darmian, Chris Smalling and Paddy McNair.

Ashley Young could theoretically be fielded as a left-back if needed.

Should such a scenario occur United may indeed look to bring in added depth in the January transfer window, but even then, Cole is unlikely to be top of the list of targets.