Man Utd Transfers: 10 Players Van Gaal Must Target In January

9. Holger Badstuber

Manchester United were linked with Mehdi Benatia for most of the summer, but the Roma man instead opted for a move to Bayern Munich. That was a disappointing blow to United, though there may yet be a silver lining to this grey cloud. Benatia's arrival at the Allianz Arena has cast new doubt over the future of Holger Badstuber. Badstuber is finding it difficult to get into the Bayern side as it is at present having twice injured his ACL, which saw him miss most of the 2012-13 season and all of the 2013-14 campaign. And with centre--back Benatia bought to play in his position, first team opportunities could be harder still to come by Louis van Gaal is familiar with Badstuber. The United boss was the man that brought Badstuber into the Bayern first team back in 2007 while the defender was playing for the youth team and handed him a run in the senior side. The Germany international may well leap at the opportunity of playing under van Gaal again, and another loan bid may be beneficial. A loan bid for Badstuber may suit all parties - it would be a chance for the centre-back to get back to his best while playing first-team football while United would have on their books (temporarily, at least) a player with big-game experience, as the 25-year-old was part of the Germany side that came third at the 2010 World Cup.