placeholder image
Getty Images
The transfer window might have shut but Man United can still sign some household names if they want to.
The prospect of Champions League football wasn’t enough for Man United to get the chequebook out in the winter transfer window.
Man United could still make free agent moves
The window might have shut, but this doesn’t mean that United can’t still sign players. There are several big-name individuals still available as well as a couple of familiar faces, should the Red Devils decide that they need to add a bit of experience in the squad.
With Dorgu injury, signing a winger on a short-term deal was an outside possibility. Having seen his Chelsea contract ripped up, Raheem Sterling is free, fit, and available. In terms of ready made replacements, they don’t come much better and the 31-year old winger could be the perfect stop-gap signing. With a World Cup on the horizon, the chance to show that he can still play at the highest level might be too good to turn down for Sterling.
The fall from grace of Dele Alli is one that should serve as a reminder to every talented young footballer. At one point, he was tracking to have a career that surpassed that of Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard in terms of scoring goals from midfield. At 29-years old, Alli is far from past it and there is always that nagging feeling that the right manager and the right club might yet be able to save him from his demons and get him back on track.
Old Trafford return for a familiar face?
Currently training with Arsenal, where Mikel Arteta hasn’t ruled out offering him a contract, Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain could add depth to the middle of midfield and allow United to let Manuel Ugarte join Galatasaray. Now 33-years old, it wouldn’t be the sort of signing that lasts any longer than to the end of the season, but he would be a safe pair of hands in terms of knowing the league and the expectations of playing for a big club.
It would be a similar story for Jesse Lingard who, at the same age, has spent the last few years in the far east enjoying a new lease of life and a new culture. If United decided to sell Ugarte, Turkey’s transfer window shuts later than England’s, Lingard is another player who could provide cover without any need to adapt or settle into life at Old Trafford.
Realistically, Sterling is the only player who United should really be considering. He might demand big wages, but on a short-term deal, it would be more than worth the gamble if he turns up and wants to prove the doubters wrong.
Continue Reading