TRANSFER NEWS: United Linked With Striker & Defensive Midfielder

Manchester United may have some talented young strikers breaking into the first team, but it certainly will not stop the club from monitoring other options with interest. Ricky van Wolfswinkel is the 22 year-old Dutchman whom has attracted the English Champions attention of late, with Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant Mike Phelan telling a Portuguese newspaper:

“We’ve known Van Wolfswinkel for a long time. He’s a young striker, very talented, who has developed well in the last few seasons.”

“A club like Manchester United carefully follow many players all over the world.”

Wolfswinkel joined Sporting Lisbon this summer for £5.5 million, signing a five year contract. He has made a blistering start to his career in Portugal, scoring an impressive 6 goals in 7 games, and with form like this, any future move from any interested club will have to be supported by a fee well in excess of the amount Sporting paid for him.

However, it is a link that no one should be getting carried away with. United certainly do not need a striker at this present moment, with Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez, Michael Owen, Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda all fighting for a place.

As Phelan said, the club are always looking at new players which also includes 27 year-old defensive midfielder, Bruno Soriano, who is rumoured to have interested Sir Alex Ferguson enough for the United manager to contact the players’ Spanish club, Villarreal, to tell of his willingness to pay close to £9 million for his signature.

However, the Spanish side have apparently told United that they want more for Soriano, a left footed midfielder who can also play in the left back position.