When Manchester United wrap up a strenuous run of nine games in 28 days over the Christmas period, Jose Mourinho will finally be able to turn his attentions to the January transfer window.
Of course, the reality is that it will have been ticking away at the back of his mind ever since it became apparent that Manchester City are the overwhelming favourites for the Premier League title.
It is the Red Devils who have to do the catching up and accordingly, they are the ones who must do the spending in the New Year.
Left-back is the obvious void to fill. Luke Shaw’s improved performance against CSKA Moscow may have been a case of too little, too late, and while Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo, and Daley Blind can all play in his position, it’s telling that the one man Mourinho has trusted most regularly in recent weeks is 32-year-old Ashley Young.
Is it inevitable that they will move for Danny Rose? The Daily Record thinks not, with Alex Sandro now being described as the club’s number one target.
Juventus would be making a big mistake if they let him go mid-season, especially as for once, they are not marching inexorably towards the Serie A title. As it stands, they sit third, behind Inter Milan and Napoli.
The former Porto defender is likely to cost a good £15-20million more than Rose – a fee well within United’s resources, however, and undoubtedly worth that extra bit of investment.
Sandro can play on the wing
If Mourinho wants to kill two birds with one stone, Sandro may be the answer. Whereas Rose has developed into a wing-back over the past 18 months or so, since Pochettino’s preferred system has employed three centre-backs, he is not a conventional winger. Sandro has more experience playing in midfield and United’s left side could do with one more option, hence their long-standing interest in Ivan Perisic.
Fitness
Rose only recently made his return to the Spurs first team having sat out for 10 months. What was initially deemed a minor knock against Sunderland in January eventually required surgery. When he arrived back at training, he was looking unfit and hasn’t yet shown he has recovered the speed or delivery that set him apart as one of the Premier League’s best full-backs. As for Sandro, he has emerged as Max Allegri’s first choice and came to prominence just in time for the demise of Patrice Evra in Turin. Having experienced first-hand the problems a player can have when returning from a lengthy injury lay-off – see the last year of Shaw’s career – United need someone who can slot straight in. All the indications are that Rose is on the mend and his rehabilitation is going well, but there are no guarantees of what level he’ll get back to.
Attitude
It’s difficult to assess Rose’s situation at Tottenham without reference to that interview with the Sun. Mourinho does not take kindly to players showing that kind of attitude and while it was just one blip in an otherwise spotless record in north London, it was a pretty major one. For a moment against APOEL, Spurs fans feared more drama when the England international walked down the tunnel after being substituted, though this turned out to be much ado about nothing. Rose was injured, and he went to get stiches. The fact remains that Tottenham are on tenterhooks, waiting for his next outburst. United are bound to take that into account when assessing their January options.
