Manchester United have been splashing the cash for a second consecutive spending. A grand total of £76.7 million spent so far to bring: Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Matteo Darmian to Old Trafford.
Louis Van Gaal’s spending doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon however, as the Dutchman is targeting players to fill up the central defender and striker positions.
The English club have been linked with a host of players from La Liga clubs, and in light of that here are five targets that Manchester United could look at from the Spanish league.
Nicolas Otamendi
The first target for Van Gaal is a defender that has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for the majority of the summer months: Valencia’s Nicolas Otamendi.
The Argentine has only had one full at the Spanish club but proved a revelation at the back. Otamendi proved pivotal in Valencia finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in four years.
The Argentine would link up well with his national teammate Marcos Rojo and has made no secret that he wants to make the move to Old Trafford, with rumours of him refusing to play for the Spanish side to try and force a move through.
Despite this, it does seem that Otamendi will stay in Spain. With media outlets reporting that he has enrolled his children in a Spanish school, however, many would be trusted to believe that there could still be one more twist in the tale.
Karim Benzema
Manchester United and Real Madrid have been locked in transfer talks for what seems like an age, with one of the players who has been subject to these talks coming later in the list; but for now focus will be on striker Karim Benzema.
The Frenchman is widely regarded as one of the deadliest strikers on the continent, and looked to be forming an excellent partnership with Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, scoring 22 goals last season.
However, no matter how many goals the 27-year-old scores, he will always be playing the third fiddle to his teammates, and looks to be further down the pecking order with new manager Rafa Benitez planning to play Bale down the middle of the park.
This plan has given the indication that Benzema could be open to a move away from the Bernabeu. It wouldn’t be the first time that United have been interested as they looked to nab the striker before he moved to Spain from French side Lyon back in 2009.
They will reportedly face stern competition from fellow Premier League side Arsenal, with manager Arsene Wenger willing to match the asking price of £35m. Due to the spending power of the Red Devils recently nobody can put it past Van Gaal to throw money towards to Benzema to turn his head to Manchester, rather than the capital.
Aymeric Laporte
It has been well highlighted that one of the positions that Van Gaal is looking to fill is in the central defence. Many fans would look to bring in some experience at the back to help nurture both Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.
However, they could be tempted to bring in some young blood and they could look no further than Athletic Club’s defender Aymeric Laporte. The young Frenchman has been impressing many in La Liga and has certainly caught the attention of the Manchester club as they have been monitoring him for quite some time.
One big stumbling block will be the price of the 20-year-old. He has recently signed a one-year extension which has seen his buyout clause skyrocket to €50m. It would be a hefty price to pay, but it could prove to be an investment into a potentially world-class defender to rule the back line for the next decade.
Daniel Parejo
The other position that Van Gaal has been looking to fill has been the striking with the departure of Robin Van Persie and Radamel Falcao. Some of the world biggest strikers have been linked with a move to Old Trafford.
However, there are some strikers that lurk in the lower regions of La Liga who could be just as effective as the big hitters and one of them is Valencia’s Daniel Parejo.
The 26-year-old finished with 12 league goals last season which is just a goal behind Bale and a few behind some of the best strikers in the league in Luis Suarez and Benzema.
Some will think that the 26-year-old isn’t the high-profile striker that the United side need, but for a cut-price fee he could be exactly the thing that United need to fill the void.
Sergio Ramos
The final target on the list is one that has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester in the past few weeks: Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos.
The Spaniard has been one of the best central defenders on the globe in the past few years, but has reportedly been looking for a new challenge away from the Bernabeu and it seems that Old Trafford is his preferred destination.
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the defender in the past few weeks, with every move possible been reported, even a possible swap deal with goalkeeper David De Gea going the opposite way.
It did seem the deal had been called off with United’s initial bid, but Van Gaal did hint that the move still wasn’t over and with a reported £50m bid enough to seal the deal it does seem that 29-year-old could be on the move soon.