Should Manchester United Be Going For Switzerland’s Yann Sommer In The January Transfer Window?

As Manchester United enter the winter transfer market, they will be keeping their eyes peeled and ears open to hear any bargains out there.

The Glazer family have publicly admitted that they would like to sell the club, but that is not expected to be finalised until Q2 of next year. And so, the cash armoury – which was already running low – is unlikely to be topped up and spent on glitz and glamour new signings.

Erik Ten Hag knows that Manchester United are in desperate need of a forward to bolster the team’s attack, especially given they terminated Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract midway through the World Cup.

With only one recognised first-team striker, Anthony Martial, on their books, it looks slim pickings for Ten Hag going into 2023. And that is if Martial remains fit and healthy which he has struggled to do so far.

Another area of concern will be in the goalkeeping department. While David de Gea’s performances have certainly improved since the Dutch manager took over, the Spanish goalkeeper – who did not make his country’s World Cup squad – is not in the template that Ten Hag wants.

With his contract expiring at the end of this season, Manchester United have a decision to make: either take the option in his contract to extend it until 2024 and offer a new deal, or cut ties with the long-time serving goalkeeper and bring in a new number one.

Dean Henderson, currently on loan at Nottingham Forest, is likely to leave Manchester United come the end of the season, and so the club might find themselves in the market for two goalkeepers to challenge one another.

A name that continues to crop up time and time again is Borussia Monchengladbach’s Yann Sommer. A goalkeeper who had excelled at yet another international tournament with Switzerland finds himself out of contract with the German side come the end of the season.

It is to be believed that Gladbach would allow Sommer to leave in January for a small fee of £5 million. There has always been skepticism over Sommer’s height, 6ft, in England, but he has shown his abilities in Europe and for his country on a regular basis; Sommer is one of the best shot-stoppers in the world with reflexes that mirror a cat’s.

Ten Hag clearly has a style of play and wants to implement building foundations from the back, which means having a goalkeeper that he implicitly trusts to handle the ball well.

There have been other reports to suggest that Manchester United are lining up Diogo Costa, FC Porto and Portugal’s number one, to come in and take the starting position at Old Trafford.

If the Red Devils decide to let De Gea leave at the end of the season, it is more than likely two goalkeepers will be brought in, which could be the bargain deal of Sommer and more expensive Costa to battle it out for number one.