Atletico Madrid preparing to offer €32m double assault on Manchester United

Louis Van Gaal is finally getting down to business as he looks to revamp the squad he has inherited from former Manchester United manger David Moyes. Certain players are set to leave the club, and now English newspaper Guardian have reported that Atletico Madrid are looking to take advantage of United’s situation by offering €32m for the pair of Shinji Kagawa and out of favour striker Javier Hernandez.

The Mexican has certainly fallen the pecking order with Rooney, Van Persie and Danny Welbeck being favoured ahead of the 26 year old who had a dry World Cup campaign with his country in Brazil. Van Gaal’s preferred 3-5-2 formation will mean he has no starting spot as Rooney and Van Persie are expected to lead the line. There was significant interest for Hernandez from Inter Milan while Juventus too enquired about the player on a loan deal with an option to buy. United are believed to have put an €11m price tag on the Mexican, as reported by Italian media outlet Tuttosport, one of the most respectable sources in Italy.

Kagawa wants to play in the number ten role but it can be surely expected that Juan Mata will don the role for the Red Devils. The Japanese’s future thus looks extremely bleak and should his former club Borussia Dortmund not stake deal to take his back, expect the player to leave Manchester by the time the summer window slams shut.  

It is sad to see that united hasn’t been able to use the player to the best of his quality but as the situation currently suggests Van Gaal is looking to cut short his out of favour players. The Dutch legend won the Guinness International Champions Cup beating Liverpool in the final in the USA in their build up to the brand new 2014-15 season. Van Gaal had earlier said, “I will make my judgments after the tour. I let all the players play and I know now more than before the tour. Now also it is a little bit soon to judge but in football you have to judge. You have to give a chance to the player to make a transfer when I see that his prospects to play are not so high. You have to say it in advance because it’s too late after 31 August. I will tell players after the tour but to them not to you [reporters].” 

Arsenal and Chelsea boosted as Madrid seeks to find replacement

This would come as a welcome boost for Arsenal and Chelsea. Reports from Spanish newspaper El Confidencial have reported that Champions League winners Real Madrid are on the look put of Wolfsburg’s Brazilian midfielder Luis Gustavo. This comes as a major development and would certainly hint at Sami Khedira’s contract situation at the Bernabeu. Both Chelsea and Arsenal are interested in the Wolf Cup winner but those rumours which had gathered pace in the middle of July broke off after neither of the English giants.

Khedira’s contract at the Spanish capital is set tend in the coming summer and with Bundesliga Champions Bayern Munich are also interested the Tunisian born is caught in transfer tussle between three clubs.  The 27-year-old Khedira would be an ideal signing for Arsenal with manager Arsene Wenger fully on the lookout to enhance his squad depth.

So why have Real moved early for Gustavo who did quite a good job for Brazil in the World Cup? There is no doubt that the player acts a true defensive midfielder screening his defense while his passing ability is second to none.  So with Khedira yet to sign a contract extension and the arrival of Toni Kroos at the Galacticos it appears Carlo Ancelotii has the frowns on his forehead and hence wants to sign a replacement before they are out of ‘depth.’ This in a different tilted angle certainly means Khedira’s time is well and truly over at the Spanish giants.

As far as Gustavo is concerned, the 26 year old joined Wolfsburg  at the beginning of the 2013-14 season when he was deemed surplus to requirements  at the Allianz Arena. La Liga winners who have endured a mass exodus of their players already to Chelsea are also contemplating a bid for Gustvao, the Rojiblancos who earlier failed to sign Gustavo as Wolfsburg offered the player a salary of €4.5m per season.  

Arsenal’s needs of a central defensive midfielder are well documented and with the Morgan Schneiderlin rumours dying down over the past weeks, who knows if the Khedira bid could just revive itself before the transfer window slams shut?

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