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Transfer Rumours

United winger set for Turkish delight?

Nani+Portugal+v+Luxembourg+FIFA+2014+World+qI4Boc9ZAhDlThe January transfer window might still be two and half months away, but the rumour mill is in full swing and Manchester United seem to have yet again being caught in the thick of it.

Today’s backpages claim that Galatasaray are set offer £13m for Nani in January, as Roberto Mancini, who replaced Fatih Terim at the helm of the Istanbul club less than a month ago, begins to seek a replacement for Wesley Sneijder, who could be reunited with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea.

The story, which appeared on the popular Turkish newspaper Fotomac and was reported by the Daily Express, would sound a bit more credible if it wasn’t that, just over a week ago, Galatasaray were linked with a £12.5m for Antonio Valencia by another Turkish daily.

Either Turkish journalists love watching United, or Roberto Mancini is desperate to sign a winger who can’t beat a man and a player so frustratingly inconsistent that even his staunchest advocates fail to defend at times. Considering that wing-play is a department in which United haven’t excelled in years, it’s rather odd that their wingers have seemingly become hot property around European football over the last couple of weeks.

According to the Express, Mancini would sanction a move for Nani should Sneijder leave Istanbul for London, as Galatasaray will have to sell one of their foreign players before signing Nani, given that the Turkish FA has a limit of 10 foreign players per club.

The Istanbul giants had already been linked with Nani in the summer, alongside the likes of Monaco and Roma, and even submitted an offer which was rejected by United as it didn’t match the financial requests of the club, before Nani then ended up signing a new deal, which many considered a sign of the Portuguese’s willingness to seek a fresh start under David Moyes.

Moyes has, in fact, opted to pick Nani ahead of Antonio Valencia in recent weeks, with the Portuguese’s pace and technique deemed preferable to the Ecuadorian’s workrate – well, sort of – but while he’s been better than his fellow wingers, Nani has failed to impress so far this season, even though he scored for Portugal on Tuesday.

Having said that, it would make very little sense for United to part ways with the Portuguese who, for all his inconsistency, remains one of the  few player at Moyes’ disposal able to turn a game on its head and if the United manager is really planning to offload some wingers, than Valencia and particularly Ashley Young should be at the top of the list.

However, the fact the Nani signed a new contract this summer would put United in a strong position should they decide to sell him in January.