Manchester United's hopes of signing Mats Hummels appear to be over after manager Louis van Gaal conceded the Borussia Dortmund defender is likely to be unavailable for the next two transfer windows, according to the Telegraph. United were liked with Hummels for much of the summer, but nothing materialised on deadline day this week. And any hope van Gaal may have held of signing the centre-back in the January transfer window appears unlikely at best, while the Germany World Cup winner may not even be available next summer, either. United were frustrated in their attempts to sign Hummels over the last few months, and with the player under contract at Signal Iduna Park until July 2017, know it will not be easy for them to strike a deal in the near future. With Dortmund having already sold a number of their star players recently, including Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski - who have both joined domestic rivals Bayern Munich - the Red Devils know the Bundesliga club would be loath to lose Hummels as well, and would not consider selling until 2016 at the earliest. With the absence of any major central defensive additions to his side this summer, van Gaal could instead turn to youth. Rookie Tyler Blackett has been promoted into the first team this season, while Danny Welbeck was sold to Arsenal and Javier Hernandez loaned to Real Madrid with the Dutch manager reportedly impressed by the potential of 18-year-old forward James Wilson.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
