Adam Wharton leading three-man shortlist of January targets for Manchester United

Manchester United are looking for a new midfielder and according to TEAMtalk, a signing in January is not ruled out with a three-man shortlist made by the Old Trafford officials as they look to bolster an understaffed area in their squad.

Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton is at the top of their wish-list, which also includes Brighton & Hove Albion star Carlos Baleba and Al Hilal’s Ruben Neves. Baleba is a player United have wanted since the summer, while Neves was on their radar earlier too.

Ruben Amorim is currently able to count on only Casemiro to play consistently in a double pivot as Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte have struggled for form and fitness, thereby forcing Bruno Fernandes to play in a deeper position than he usually does.

After getting rid of Antony on a permanent deal, and sending Jadon Sancho as well as Marcus Rashford out on loan, the Red Devils have freed up vital room in their wage budget, which might be sufficient in helping them make a big January signing.

Wharton and Baleba transfers difficult in January

January transfers for Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba would be difficult propositions for Manchester United, particularly considering how important they are to Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion, respectively.

Wharton’s asking price stood at £69 million a few weeks ago, and although he is keen on departing Selhurst Park, the Eagles are hoping to hold onto him until at least the end of the season as opposed to sanctioning his sale midway through the campaign.

Likewise, Baleba is also a key fixture in Brighton’s plans and very possibly, a winter swoop for him might be a bit too soon for Man United to afford given that his price tag is expected to be north of the £100 million figure.

That said, Ruben Neves seems like the easiest proposition for the Red Devils as he is approaching the end of his contract at Saudi Arabia and has been pondering over returning to Europe. Therefore, his transfer fee is unlikely to be very high.

Neves is still only 28 and has a decent portion of his career ahead of him, so Man United would have an experienced medium-term fix in their engine room in the Portuguese international, who has previously played in the Premier League too.

It will be interesting to see how much money exactly Man United would have available for their January transfers, but regardless, transfers for Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba might need to wait until next summer.