Potential free transfer signings for Manchester United

With the new year upon us, the turn of the year also brings a brand new transfer window. The transfer window in turn brings us the silly season, where rumours spiral out of control and grow legs from a tweet. They also bring about plenty of talk about contracts coming to an end.

As of January 1st 2015, any player who’s contract has 6 months remaining on it was free to talk to clubs abroad about a transfer for the summer under the Bosman ruling. That means that the ‘buying’ club doesn’t have to pay a fee to the parent club of the player and the transfer will go through in the summer.

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Previous high-profile bosman transfers include Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich last summer, Sol Campbell from Tottenham to local rivals Arsenal, Andrea Pirlo from AC Milan to Juventus and David Beckham from Real Madrid to LA Galaxy.

With a host of top names contract’s set to expire at the end of this current season, we take a look at who Manchester United could possibly do with and whether it would be worth paying a small fee to bring them in over the January transfer window.

Nigel De Jong

A former Manchester City midfielder, Nigel De Jong is no stranger to the English Premier League. The Dutchman featured under Louis Van Gaal for the Holland national team at the World Cup in Brazil last year and was linked with a move to Old Trafford in the summer. A deal was never agreed and the transfer never took place but there’s no denying there is certainly a place in midfield for De Jong.

De Jong was linked with a move to Old Trafford last summer. [Credit: @dankorpiklaani]Famed for his kung-fu kick on Xabi Alonso in the World Cup final in 2010, De Jong brings a nasty streak that Manchester United have missed since the departure of Roy Keane almost ten years ago. His aggression, tenacity and energy in midfield is something similar to what Darren Fletcher once offered to the side in his prime, before ulcerative colitis took away the top end of his career.

De Jong would likely be available in January for a fee between £5-7 million, something that as a short term option would make a lot of sense for Louis Van Gaal as a coach and player with a previous relationship.

Sami Khedira

After a knee injury ruled the German midfielder out of the majority of last season, many were astounded by the level of performance he found towards the end of the season for Real Madrid before making it into the German World Cup squad.

Khedira’s boundless energy would be an asset to many teams in the world and was key as Germany thumped Brazil 7-1 on their own soil, with Khedira getting on the scoresheet. He’s struggled to break into the Real Madrid side this season however thanks to the form of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric (pre-injury) plus new signing James Rodriguez’s transformation into a more attacking central midfielder has been a great success.

Khedira seemingly tried to force a move to England last summer, with Arsenal and Chelsea keen for his signature. With Van Gaal’s midfield causing him problems through injuries and poor form, Khedira would be a reasonable option. He would offer the physical presence that Van Gaal has been forced to get from Fellaini while he still has the technical ability to implement Van Gaal’s philosophy of a passing game from midfield.

Reports circulated earlier in the season that the World Cup winner had agreed a deal with Bayern Munich for next summer but with those rumours going cold and nothing official announced it could be worth looking into.

Fabian Schar

A solid defender, Fabian Schar will be a steal for whoever his next club is. The Swiss international is currently playing his football for FC Basel and was part of the side who knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League at the group stages.

At 22 years old, Schar has already reportedly attracted the attention of Manchester United, Arsenal, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund and with six months on his contract remaining the tall defender would be an asset to all those sides.

With Champions League and international experience at such a young age, the former FC Wil defender has shown his supreme talent in the two-and-a-half seasons and will surely be on the move sooner rather than later.

His pace, height, physical presence and ability with the ball at his feet are all sure to impress Louis Van Gaal and with Manchester United actively searching for defensive reinforcements in January, the chance to snap up this talent early for a minimal fee could be exactly the kind of bargain that the boss is willing to purchase before February 2nd’s deadline.

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