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Manchester United transfer news: Louis van Gaal eyes January deal for Ayoze Perez with Riyad Mahrez and Felipe Anderson also on radar

Southampton's Sadio Mane and Anwer El Ghazi of Ajax are also believed to be on United's watchlist ahead of the transfer window

Jack de Menezes
Tuesday 10 November 2015 13:19 GMT
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With Louis van Gaal’s admission that he is determined to sign players in January that will give him “speed and creativity” out wide, the transfer rumour mill has kicked back into gear with a bang at who could arrive at Manchester United in the near-future.

The club’s executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, saw speculative pursuits for the likes of Gareth Bale, Thomas Muller and Neymar end in failure during the summer, but Van Gaal’s admission that he will continue to splash the cash in the transfer market teased United fans that another big name could be coming to Old Trafford.

Bastian Schweinsteiger proved to be the marquee signing of the summer and the German World Cup winner joined from Bayern Munich, but Anthony Martial proved to be the most expensive signing of the summer for the club as his transfer from French side Monaco set United back an initial £36m that could rise to as much as £58m in the years to come.

Despite the club expecting to post record revenue at the end of the year of £500m, the club may resist spending excessive amounts in January, although no fewer than four names have already emerged on the United radar since Van Gaal’s comments last weekend.

The Telegraph report that Newcastle’s Ayoze Perez has caught the eye of Van Gaal, and they could face a battle with north London due Arsenal and Tottenham to land the 22-year-old Spaniard who has been one of few Newcastle players to impress this season. However, Newcastle’s desire not to sell any players cheaply combined with their current relegation battle would prove to be a problem in trying to convince the Magpies’ hierarchy to sell the forward.

Should United either miss out on Perez or decide he is not the man to inject their Premier League title challenge with some much needed pace, then Van Gaal could turn his attentions elsewhere. The Daily Mail reports that Leicester City’s in-form attacking midfielder Riyad Mahrez, who currently sits joint-third in the Premier League goal scorers charts alongside Everton striker Romelu Lukaku.

Along with the 24-year-old Algeria international, United are also believed to be monitoring Lazio midfielder Felipe Anderson despite his slow start to the season. It’s added that United’s chief scout, Jim Lawlor, travelled to Norway to watch Lazio’s Europa League encounter with Rosenborg last week, only for Anderson not to play due to injury.

However, his form has picked up for the Serie A side in recent weeks which has led to United maintaining interest in the Brazilian, while the club are also considering making a second move for Southampton forward Sadio Mane despite last summer’s failed pursuit having been put off by the Saints’s £20m valuation of the Senegal international.

PA's PL team of the week 9.11-13.11

Given that United were unwilling to shell out that fee on Mane earlier this year, they are highly unlikely to meet the new asking price of more than £35m, although they could try to negotiate a lower fee and include performance-based incentives.

One other name that has been mentioned is Ajax’s 20-year-old winger Anwar El Ghazi, who has already made two appearances for the Netherlands and has been tipped to have a bright future.

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