Man Utd officials fly to Spain for Oyarzabal transfer as shock midfield signing approved | OneFootball

Manchester United officials were recently in Spain to explore the signing of Mikel Oyarzabal, while a shock loan move for a central midfielder in January has been approved and there’s growing belief a major United star will be AXED at season’s end.

Man Utd are in with a real shot at qualifying for next season’s Champions League and despite constant reports talking up a quiet January, there are murmurings of two potential signings…

Mikel Oyarzabal

Firstly, FootballTransfers have brought news of Man Utd officials flying to Spain last Sunday to attend Real Sociedad’s clash with Barcelona.

The possibility of re-integrating Marcus Rashford into the fold at Old Trafford was discussed now Ruben Amorim is out of the picture.

But perhaps the bigger revelation came in the claims United had a second motive for the visit – exploring a move for Mikel Oyarzabal.

The 28-year-old certainly gave United’s travelling party an eyeful when volleying his side in front. Real Sociedad would go on to secure a shock 2-1 win, and the report stated United have identified the experienced striker as a genuine transfer target for the current window.

The 51-cap Spain international has reportedly been on Man Utd’s radar for some time and the club’s interest has now become ‘serious’…

Midfielder loan

A central midfielder is also on the agenda, and while United’s main three targets – Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba – aren’t available this month, United might not sit idly by until they are.

Instead, both talkSPORT and our own Graeme Bailey have confirmed Man Utd are looking at loaning a midfielder to aid Michael Carrick’s chances of guiding United into the UCL spots.

Initial talks to bring Ruben Loftus-Cheek – currently of AC Milan and formerly of Chelsea – back to England have taken place.

Former Leicester destroyer, Wilfred Ndidi, is also under consideration for a loan. The 28-year-old is currently on the books of Besiktas.

But while many United fans would be glad to see any new midfielder arrive, another of our insiders, Dean Jones, believes they could be making a short-sighted mistake.

“It seems that the idea of a loan midfielder is actually being considered but it is slightly strange because it does not really fit with the way the club had been planning,” Jones exclusively told us.

“Maybe this is something that has come out of talks with Michael Carrick, but in the new midfield shape you could argue they don’t actually need any more support in that area, given they only have the Premier League games left to play.

“I personally have always been sceptical of the Ruben Neves links but now we are hearing Loftus-Cheek and Wilfried Ndidi mentioned.

“They all have Premier League experience but is there any scope for any of those beyond this season? If not it does not seem very worthwhile and does not fit the pattern they had been looking for in terms of signings for the long-term.

“Obviously, it is always the case that United get offered players at this stage of a season so we have to consider that these players could genuinely be offered – but whether they take it any further is going to be interesting.”

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Harry Maguire

Finally, Harry Maguire’s future is hanging in the balance, with TEAMtalk learning what’s been said during discussions between the centre-back and Red Devils.

Maguire, 32, is out of contract in the summer and thus far, United have shown no desire to trigger his one-year option. Doing so would keep him on his £190,000-a-week wages.

Instead, we can reveal Man Utd have proposed a short-term extension, probably one-year, with an optional second year to minimise risk. What’s more, we understand United are insisting Maguire take a pay-cut.

From Maguire’s perspective, we can confirm the veteran defender would love nothing more than to re-sign at Old Trafford.

However, he’ll not sell himself short in negotiations and if the terms United put forward are ultimately deemed unsatisfactory, he won’t lack for viable next moves.