Whatever happens at the end of this crazy season, Manchester United look certain to make a huge overhaul of their squad. Much of who stays, who comes in and who goes, will depend on the manager in charge.
If Louis Van Gaal suddenly hits a rich vein of form and his side finishes the season in 4th place with an FA Cup, the starting lineup could look very similar to how it looks now. If however, as expected, they crash out of the FA Cup and finish outside of the top 4, a new manager looks likely to come in and be given a war-chest to make the purchases he wants.
His price at the start of this season was evaluated at €24m.
Long time admirers of Braga midfielder Rafa Silva, United will face competition from Porto who have consistently expressed interest. They might drive the price up a little but Porto can’t compete with United’s spending power.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been eyed by most big teams in Europe for a few seasons now and Borussia Dortmund sporting director, Hans-Joachim Watzke, has declared that £78 million is what it would take to get Dortmund to sell. It seems a high figure but Aubameyang is a prolific scorer and United could do with one of those.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has stated that he would consider leave Paris if the right offer came in and at 35 years of age, he would be looking to cement his legacy as an all-time great. Presumably, the teams that could afford his wage in England are Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United.
Romelu Lukaku seems to be a name that is often stated as wanting a move away from Everton lately and his firepower would certainly give something to the lackluster United team. Lukaku’s dad may yet have a role to play in the saga as he said that Manchester would be the best place to move onto the next level.