Now the size of the task at Manchester United has truly dawned on Ed Woodward, the under-fire executive vice-chairman has scribbled down not one or two names on headed paper but eight targets they fancy signing across the next two transfer windows. At the top of the list is supposedly the Leicester City pair Ben Chilwell and James Maddison, a double swoop that it says here will cost a cool £130m.
The only thing is, United are not the only team in for Chilwell and nor are they Maddison’s only admirers. When it comes to Chilwell, Chelsea have somehow jumped to the front of queue for the 22-year-old left-back, who was previously of interest to Manchester City and is these days an England staple, despite still operating under a transfer ban. If Ole Gunnar Solskjær misses out on those two, then at least the United manager can console himself with news that Juventus are still sniffing around Paul Pogba. The Serie A club are keen on a reunion with Pogba and are happy to gift-wrap Mario Mandzukic and Emre Can in exchange for the France midfielder.
At Tottenham, crisis mode is in full swing, for Real Madrid are set to make a move for Christian Eriksen in January. Real, who are also said to be monitoring Pogba’s situation, have shelved plans to make an end-of-season play for the Dane in case Daniel Levy convinces him to sign a new contract. Across north London, Arsenal are trying to come up with a masterplan to flog Mesut Özil, with Unai Emery rubbing his hands together at the prospect of talks with Fenerbahce over smoothing the path for a loan exit. On the subject of midfielders of Turkish descent, Arsenal have their eyes fixed on Feyenoord’s Orkun Kökçü, who is valued at circa £20m.
Elsewhere, Manchester City are weighing up a move for Benfica’s Rúben Dias, who has also been linked with Manchester United. José Mourinho may have turned his nose up at it but Laurent Blanc, Rudi Garcia and Jorge Sampaoli are forming an orderly queue for the Lyon job, while the former Aston Villa manager Rémi Garde remains in contention. And Bournemouth striker Jermain Defoe wants to play on into his 40s – with Rangers, where he has spent the past 10 months on loan.