Manchester United’s January transfer window has been a quiet one with little transfer news beyond rumours.
Despite the burning need for Ruben Amorim to reinforce his squad, prospects of this occurring look relatively slim right now.
Amorim has outlined a desire to strengthen, yet with no money in the transfer kitty – Manchester United are yet to make any moves.
This could all change in an instant if Amorim is able to shift some unwanted pieces out the door such as Marcus Rashford.
In this event, it would seem that United are working behind the scenes to line up replacements – and the latest to be linked is a real gem.
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Manchester United keen on Jamie Gittens
Rashford has interest from all across Europe, with one potential destination being Borussia Dortmund – although West Ham are also viewed as a possibility.
The Dortmund interest is interesting, as now United have been credited as having serious interest in one of the Bundesliga side’s top players.
German journalist Florian Plettenberg has reported this weekend the latest on Dortmund sensation Jamie Gittens.
The England U21 international is following a similar route to Jadon Sancho in Germany and is now a top target for Bayern Munich this year.
The 20-year-old is likely to leave the Signal Iduna Park if Dortmund miss out on the Champions League, with United also very keen on the winger.
With Dortmund’s interest in Rashford, there could therefore be scope for a swap to be arranged.
David Ornstein has also claimed that Chelsea are looking at Gittens – along with the interest in Alejandro Garnacho from London, as Spurs are willing to pay £60m.
Gittens’ manager at Dortmund, Nuri Sahin was full of praise for his star man last month: “You need 1-on-1 players who have speed. He’s maturing in his game. We talk a lot about risk and reward. When do I go into the 1-on-1, when do I prepare for it? When he gets rolling, he’s a fantastic player. He’s also made huge strides defensively.”
The praise for Gittens defensively will particularly please Amorim as it could mean he is perfect for that left wing-back role on the opposite flank to Amad. Gittens’ work rate and off-the-ball could mean he is effectively a duplicate of Amad for the other side of the pitch, a nightmare for other sides.
Gittens plays football like Mohamed Kudus – Ten Hag’s biggest mistake
Having joined Dortmund from the Manchester City academy, Gittens is having an identical career route to Sancho – albeit taking longer to break out.
This season though has been his breakout campaign, making 18 Bundesliga appearances with seven goals and three assists – along with scoring four in six Champions League games.
Gittens is therefore in line for a big move – and it could be to United, with Amorim correcting a mistake Erik ten Hag made in the summer of 2022. In this transfer window, Ten Hag pushed hard to sign Antony – leaving the supremely talented Ghanian Mohammed Kudus at Ajax.
Marco van Basten claimed Kudus was better than Antony. This soon became evident with Kudus shining last season and in terms of style, FBRef puts the West Ham forward as the top comparison for Gittens.
So by signing Gittens, United could correct this wrong – and he could be a player perfect for the offensive wing-back role Amorim is looking for. Gittens not only is an excellent worker – but Sahin has previously lauded his work too – making him perfect for Amorim.
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