Do World Cup absentees hold the key for Manchester United?

Article by Terry Carroll (@terrypcarroll)

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Every little piece of rumour is being seized on, regurgitated, reprocessed and even sometimes exaggerated to create 'news' that lasts merely moments in this transfer window.

Take the media whirlwind surrounding Arturo Vidal, for example. First he was coming; then United supposedly withdrew because the price was too high. Antonio Conte resigned as Juventus coach and the media went into overdrive suggesting that Vidal's imminent sale was the 'last straw'. Now CEO Marotta insists he is staying with the 'Old Lady'.

If the latter is true, this means Louis van Gaal must look elsewhere (if indeed he wasn't already doing so). United fans are simply desperate for the next signing of what they hope will be a total of at least five, including Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw.

There can be no doubt that United need a credible centre-back and probably a wide player. But above all they need at least one more central midfield player. And this is where a couple of names who missed the World Cup could be key.

We're not talking about Michael Carrick or Tom Cleverley. Carrick surely would have been better than Jordan Henderson for England? Maybe Van Gaal will turn him into the new Andrea Pirlo? Tom Cleverley is surely on his way after the new manager has completed his immediate squad review by lunchtime tomorrow?

The key to United's resurgence as a Premier League and then Champions League force could instead lie with two players who missed the World Cup through injury.

Van Gaal seems to be keen on players who are adaptable to more than one position, as well as those who are 'best in class' for such as central midfield. Thomas Vermaelen, for example would provide cover for left back as well as centre-back.

But Ander Herrera and Arturo Vidal are more specialised players with a clearly defined role. They need to be complemented by either a defensive or holding midfielder. And that is why the interest in Kevin Strootman won't go away.

Among the dropped catches by 'Dithering Dave', one of the most annoying was Strootman. That he went to AS Roma for a mere £14 million is frankly beyond belief with United missing such a player since Roy Keane, and Carrick having to fill in.

Strootman missed the World Cup with a knee injury which is said to be recovering and some went as far to suggest that Holland would not do well in his absence. Now, with the newly arrived former Dutch manager at Old Trafford it is no surprise that the rumours have restarted.

There is no doubt that Vidal could have covered the position until January, when Strootman is slated to arrive, but what happens in the meantime? Maybe Herrera, Carrick or even Phil Jones will rotate the position, or even Nigel de Jong could be an inexpensive stop-gap.

The other notable absentee in Brazil was Marco Reus and yet again it was suggested that Germany would miss him badly. That they went on to lift the trophy should only scare England supporters more when they see the gulf between the World champions and the paltry mess our national football team is in.

But his absence means that, unlike all the players whose asking prices have risen since (such as Vidal, James Rodriguez and Angel di Maria), he was not 'showcased' in Rio.

Furthermore, it now seems that Barcelona have lost interest having signed Luis Suarez and that Reus may be ruing having turned down Manchester United in his cast-iron belief that he was on his way to Spain.

Knowing that United were desperately keen, and seeing arguably the most impressive manager at the World Cup arriving at Old Trafford, might just give the Red Devils the impetus they need to sign a player with the potential to become the best midfielder in Europe.

Reus has the advantage that he can also play on the wing, which would be some compensation if United cannot land either Di Maria or Rodriguez.

Now the truth is that we have no real idea what is in Van Gaal's mind. The press ran away with the simplistic idea that he would sign loads of Dutch players but one by one the likes of Martins Indi and Janmaat look to be heading elsewhere.

Since then the supposed 'war chest' of up to £200 million has seen United linked to almost every world class player and a whole lot more. Most of the links are surely spurious and some may even have been floated by agents to get their clients a better deal (surely not...?)

It does seem as if Ed Woodward has learned the lesson of keeping quiet after last summer's public humiliation in the transfer market, especially the ridiculous Cesc Fabregas saga.

But until United actually make and announce new signings the forest fire of speculation will continue. Strootman and Reus both make sense for different reasons. The former may not arrive until January; the latter has the opportunity to light up world football at the 'biggest club in the world'.

So if neither Vidal nor Di Maria arrive but Strootman and Reus do, ideally supplemented by Hummels and Vermaelen, Van Gaal will have plenty to work with and the fans will be happy.

In the meantime, with Diego Costa and Felipe Luis at Chelsea; Alexis Sanchez and possibly Sami Khedira at Arsenal; Fernando, Bacary Sagna and possibly Eliaquim Mangala at City, it is not surprising that Red Devils' supporters are fretting.

They should trust Van Gaal. He has arrived at Old Trafford; he has played his cards close to his chest but authorised moves for Herrera and Shaw. He has a track record of turning young talent into world beaters at Ajax and Bayern Munich. He seems similar to Sir Alex Ferguson and he was touted as long ago as 1999.

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