The manager is interested in Vlaar.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is weighing up the idea of making a cut price move for Aston Villa captain Ron Vlaar in the January transfer window, according to the Mirror.
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The Netherlands international is valued by his current club at around £12m, but the Red Devils would be unwilling to meet that figure and are considering other ways to land the defender.
Vlaar is out of contract at the end of this season and whilst Villa are keen to extend that, the interest from Old Trafford could be too great for the 29-year-old to refuse.
Therefore the Birmingham club may be convinced to part with the centre-back for less than their asking price to ensure they at least make some money from their skipper, rather then losing him for free next summer.
Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal knows Vlaar well from their time spent working together with the Dutch national team when the former was in charge of the Oranje between 2012 and this year.
The United boss is desperate for defensive recruitment with injuries currently ravaging his squad, with Jonny Evans, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling all currently out.
Also the departure of both Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic over the summer has failed to be properly addressed and whilst the likes of Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels and Aymeric Laporte of Athletic Bilbao are being targeted, Vlaar would serve as a much cheaper alternative.