A collection of individuals who should be on Sir Alex Ferguson’s Old Trafford radar this summer.
Robert Lewandowski, Borussia Dortmund
The links with the Polish international have been going around for a while, and that’s largely due to his outstanding form both in the Bundesliga and the Champions League.
Both Alex Ferguson and assistant boss, Terry Phelan have both made a number of visits to Germany to see the 24-year-old in action, and though Bayern Munich have repeatedly made claims that he is on his way to Bavaria at the end of the season, the player himself has stated that he finds the Manchester club the more attractive proposition.
Lewandowski has been in flying form for the past two seasons scoring 30 in 47 last term, and 27 in 37 during this current campaign. It’s not only his goalscoring exploits that make him a highly sought after either. He is an able and willing runner, making strong connections with the players around him.
He has a hefty price tag of £18 million around his neck, but he should prove to be worth every penny should he replace Nani or Wayne Rooney if they decide to move on.
Mario Gotze, Borussia Dortmund
Another Dortmund player linked with a move to the Northwest is Lewandowski’s partner in crime, Mario Gotze.
The talented 20-year-old has been perhaps the most vital element to the club’s recent success. Blessed with speed, excellent technical abilities and a flair for creativity, Gotze is on the fast track to becoming a real world-class player.
Primarily operating just behind the strikers, he is a natural born playmaker who has provided Lewandowski with the lion’s share of his goals with his accurate passing, as well as chipping in with a few of his own.
Arsenal are rumoured to be preparing a summer raid for the young German international but, like Lewandowski, he’s stated a preference for joining United instead.
Talented, but also level headed and grounded, he’s got no illusions about which move would be best for his career, and under Ferguson he’d have a manager who has seen it all and done it before.
Already on 22 caps for the national side, he’s currently helping Germany coast to the World Cup next year and will surely make it to the ‘100 club’ before he turns 30 should he continue to grow at the rate he has been.
Mats Hummels, Borussia Dortmund
The final Dortmund players that United are widely reported to be targeting is their commanding centre back, Mats Hummels.
The 24-year-old has been on Ferguson’s wishlist for some time now, though he’ll have to be prepared to battle with Manchester City and Barcelona if they want to nail his signature.
With Nemnaja Vidic looking set to move on at the end of the season, the club have identified the 24-cap German international as the Serb’s ideal replacement. Barca also want him to take over from the aging Carles Puyol who has struggled with injuries this season.
Having been unable to break into the Bayen Munich side, where he came through the ranks, he spent a year on loan at Dortmund in 2008-09 before making the permanent switch the following summer.
He has been compared to German legend Franz Beckenbauer thanks to the way he likes to bring the ball out from the back to start attacks. Gifted with good strength and a well-timed tackle, he also has the pace to catch speedy forwards who have somehow eluded him.
Unlike his teammates on this list, he’s not stated a preference as to where he’ll be next season, but United won’t find a better defender than Hummels.
Jordy Clasie, Fayenoord
The 21-year-old has really come into his own with the Eredivisie club and is now being watched by some of Europe’s elite.
The ‘Dutch Xavi,’ as he is known, is seen by many as the perfect compliment to their engine rooms as he continues to learn at a rapid rate. Good defensive midfielders are worth their weight in gold and with the added growth for potential that Clasie has then it is easy to wonder why nobody has snapped him up yet.
Alongside United, Spurs and Fiorentina have shown the strongest interest, with the Italians already tabling a bid for him.
Many United fans still aren’t sold on Michael Carrick and want somebody more dynamic in such an important position.
Clasie has already earned a handful of caps for the Dutch national side and looks set to earn a lot more as he puts himself in contention for the World Cup squad next summer.
Jackson Martinez, Porto
The Colombian may not be a household name yet, but he’s set Portugal alight with his impressive goal tally this season.
Having only signed last summer from Mexican club Jaguares, the 26-year-old has set about making a name for himself in Europe by scoring 31 goals in 34 games for the Portuguese giants so far.
With Javier Hernandez’s future still in doubt, Ferguson could look to bring in a low risk striker who won’t necessarily expect to start every week, but will put pressure on those who do by making a nuisance of himself when he does play.
Several clubs along with United have been looking at him this year. Liverpool, Juventus and AC Milan have all sent scouts over to Porto to make sure that his form hasn’t been a flash in the pan.
He’s also Radamel Falcao’s strike partner for Colombia too. The South American’s are transforming themselves from a side who seldom had much to offer into one of the most exciting teams around. So far Martinez has scored eight goals in 18 appearances.
There are more experienced strikers available to United, but news of their interest would surely turn his head and he would represent a sound investment as he’s slipped under the radar of many managers up until now.
Thiago Alcantara, Barcelona
One of the problems, and admittedly there are only a few, with Barcelona’s youth set up, is that there are so many top quality players coming through that not all of them will get to establish themselves with the club.
Sadly for Alcantara he represents one of these cases, though, Barca’s loss will most surely be someone else’s gain.
First breaking into the first team back in 2008, the 21-year-old has impressed sufficiently over his 92 games to earn a queue of potential suitors. And Manchester United are thought to be at the front of that line.
United saw a £15 million bid for him rejected around 18 months ago, as he was keen to stay and fight for his place. However, since then it has become clearer that he’ll still struggle to break into the side and as stated that he’s ready to quit and move on.
There’s no doubt that he does posses the necessary quality to play at Barcelona, but he’d get a lot more playing time at another club. He had signed a new deal last year that saw a buy out clause of £25 million installed, but it’s thought that if United return with a similar bid to the one they had rejected then the Catalan side will let him move on.
Claudio Marchisio, Juventus
Alex Ferguson has said that he’s looking for more creativity, and one player that continually tops that list is Juventus’ Claudio Marchisio.
The 27-year-old is seen as the ideal replacement for Nani and Anderson as both look set to move on this summer and the money from their sales could fund the bulk of the Italian’s £21 million fee.
Juventus boos, Antonio Conte is keen to keep his player in place but United’s reported persistence is starting to pay off as reports suggest that conversations between the two sides are at an early stage.
Marchisio has been Ferguson’s number two target for a long time, but has suddenly found himself as the most wanted after original target, Wesley Sneijder, joined Galatasaray back in January.
The Italian international has become a crucial member of both his club and international side. He broke into the team during Juve’s demotion into Serie B in 2006 and after a season long loan spell at Empoli the year after has become a mainstay in the Old Lady’s lineup.
A good dribbler with a strong work ethic, Marchisio would add a whole new dimension of depth to United’s squad and would represent a key part of the reported re-shuffle that looks set to take place over the summer.
Toby Alderweireld, Ajax
Yet another highly rated Belgian set for the Premier League, Alderweireld has been attracting attention for a while now and United finally look set to pounce and make him their own.
The 24-year-old has established himself as one of the Amsterdam clubs star players, having first broke into the side in 2008.
United have thought to have been watching him for a while now, and the player has been said to be stalling over an extension to his current contract that ends next summer.
Ferguson could wait until then to bring Alderweireld in then, but with Vidic’s impending departure and Rio Ferdinand’s gradual decline to age, a fee of just over £10 million could be enough to bring him in this year.
The Belgian has expressed a desire to play in the Premier League but has suggested that he is in no rush; “If the time is right, it will come, but now Ajax is the most important thing. It won’t be hard to play here all my life – but if I had to choose it has to be a nice club like Ajax again and there aren’t many of them,” he said recently.
With that in mind, Ferguson will have to convince the player that he will be looked after at United and get back some of that team spirit that they used to be so famed for.
Asmir Begovic, Stoke City
The Bosnian stopper has reacted favourably to recent news that Manchester United has taken more than a passing interest in making a summer move for him.
It is reported that United sent a scouting party to Bosnia to watch him during his country’s 3-1 win over Greece on the recent international break and were impressed with what they saw.
United are said to be considering their goalkeeping options as Anders Lindegaard looks set to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season and Alex Ferguson wants a capable performer to put pressure on David De Gea, who despite being in good form this year, still looks a little uncertain at the top level.
Begovic has been Stoke’s first choice custodian for three seasons now and has been consistently underrated for the bulk of that time. Having displaced veteran Thomas Sorensen, he’s been a key figure in Stoke’s rise up the Premier League table.
However, the highly rated Jack Butland is arriving in the summer and many expect him to go straight into Tony Pulis’ side.
The big Bosnian is keen to make the most of the attention and speculation, though; “I’m not under more pressure because United is watching me, I’m glad that they do because that mean I’m doing something good,” he said, “It gives me more motivation to do better and better.”
Begovic is believed to be valued around £5 million and would be a sound investment for such a relatively low amount of money.
Lucas Digne, Lille
With Patrice Evra’s spot in the team under the microscope, and Ferguson’s apparent distrust of Alex Butner to put him into the side, a new left-back could be just want United need – if not now, then for in the near future.
Highly rated Lille left-back, Lucas Digne, is a player that many have had on their radar recently. The young Frenchman has made 21 appearances for Lille so far this season and has impressed with a string of mature performances.
United were linked with a move for the 19-year-old in January as a replacement for Evra, but since then they have been joined by the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City who are also keeping tabs on the player with the hope of luring him to the Premier League.
Digne first broke into the team in 2011 and has since gone on to make 39 appearances over two seasons. A mainstay of the French under-19 side, he is expected to make the step up to the under-21’s very soon.