Manchester United will have to break the £20 million barrier if they want to sign Everton left-back Leighton Baines next year, according to the Manchester Evening News. The Premier League champions failed with two summer bids of £10 million and £12 million for the 28-year-old - 29 next month - but are determined to try again in January. However, given that relations between Everton and their former boss David Moyes are now strained, the new United manager is going to have to spend big if he is to land his former star. The big question for Moyes is whether he is prepared to spend £20 million on a player who celebrates his 29th birthday in December, and whether that represents value for money. There's little questioning Baines's recent form - locked in a battle with Chelsea's Ashley Cole for the left-back position for England, the former Wigan man has been in outstanding form of late. However, he was still displaced by Cole for last night's 1-0 loss to Germany at Wembley, and a move to United, and with it, regular, Champions League football, could be crucial for his World Cup hopes. Baines' former teammate Marouane Fellaini joined United over the summer, with Moyes keen on adding Baines as part of the deal, and launched a joint £28 million offer which Everton condemned as 'derisory.' And if Moyes remains keen on reuniting the duo at Old Trafford in the New Year, it looks like he's going to have to spend big in the transfer market.
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.
