Get the day's biggest United stories delivered straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

United play West Ham this Saturday at Old Trafford with their ability to defend under the microscope. It won’t be until the Reds play the Hammers in the return at Upton Park that outside help might be brought in to strengthen the rearguard.

That will be on February 7! Five days after the month-long January 2015 transfer window shuts just after last Sunday’s conquerors Leicester visit M16. And worryingly there will be 18 Premier League matches to come before then.

Will manager Louis van Gaal have managed to fix the leaky defence before the Foxes come to Old Trafford and all the reminders their trip will throw up?

Or will we be hoping that the Dutchman has given executive vice chairman Ed Woodward a few names to chase.

United fans have wanted imports to bolster the centre of defence since Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand left in the summer.

So who might the Reds be looking at in the winter?

MATS HUMMELS

I don’t suspect United are going to back down and go away on this one. The German World Cup winner was linked with the Reds all summer but Borussia Dortmund played hard ball and wouldn’t give in. Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp was adamant he wouldn’t sell the 25-year-old and made him captain to ensure he stayed.

Hummels ticks the boxes for the Reds. The stumbling block is that Dortmund are in the Champions League and after a Group D winning start against Arsenal should be looking forward to a last 16 knockout tie by the time the window opens. The 25-year-old is unlikely to give that up mid-season and he also wants to be fair to his club saying, “If I wanted to leave the club one day I would want it to be 100 per cent open and fair for everyone.

“I wouldn’t like to say: “Oh, by the way, thank you for the last year, it was nice but I’m off.’ I would like the club to have time to adjust to it.”

United will be hoping he has told them that already but don’t hold your breath.

NEVEN SUBOTIC

The 25-year-old Serbian is Hummels’ sidekick at Dortmund and he was once an international partner of Nemanja Vidic. At 6ft 5ins he is a commanding figure, powerful and a good tackler and a great asset at set pieces both defensively and offensively.

But again they are the same obstacle getting him as it would be getting Hummels. Dortmund’s Champions League future and Jurgen Klopp’s understandable stubborness. However, United have dealt successfully with the German club over Shinji Kagawa and Dortmund did make around £10m profit on the Japanese international who flopped at Old Trafford when they took him back this summer after two seasons in England.

RON VLAAR

Had you said 12 months that the Aston Villa defender would be a leading candidate to repair United’s defensive inadequacies then you’d have been laughed out of town. Even Villa seemed to be dragging their feet over offering the 29-year-old a new deal.

But now Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert says that securing a new contract for the big defender is high on the club’s agenda.

Why has he suddenly become flavour of the month? Well he had a superb World Cup in Brazil in Holland where he kept the Dutch back line in check in their 3-5-2 system. He won the nickname ‘Roncrete’ for his rock hard defiance.

Of course, he was Louis van Gaal’s choice for that system and therefore a future link up at Old Trafford cannot now seem so far-fetched.

BENEDIKT HOWEDES

The Schalke skipper was an ever-present in Germany’s World Cup winning side in Brazil playing in every minute of the tournament and as a result the interest in him, which was already strong, heightened. Arsenal were at the forefront of the summer interest but United could join the Londoners in the pursuit in January.

The 26-year-old would come with bags of experience with 30 German caps and over 200 games for Schalke. He is aggressive, quick and reads the game well. He can also play left and right back so that adaptability should make him an LVG favourite.

DIEGO GODIN

The fulcrum of Atletico Madrid’s La Liga title win and journey to the Champions League final last season. The 28-year-old Uruguayan. Can score an important goal or two as well as defend. He grabbed the equaliser at Barcelona that gave Atletico the title and also scored in the Euro final against Real Madrid. Bayern Munich have been keen but Atletico are determined to hold onto him.