Manchester United have spent big in recent years, attracting some top talent to Old Trafford in an attempt to turn around the on-pitch fortunes of the Red Devils.
In the transfer window just gone, Man United splashed huge wads of cash on the likes of Rasmus Højlund, Mason Mount and Andre Onana – the Danish striker alone costing the Red Devils an eye-watering £72m, despite only scoring ten times in total for his former employers Atalanta in Italy.
Signing these talents for top fees hasn't correlated to on-pitch success yet for Erik ten Hag's men, players coming into the building such as Onana looking out of his depth if anything since leaving Ajax behind for the top-flight of England.
It could lead to Man United spending even more money to attempt to salvage their current season when January comes around – Ten Hag's side tenth at the time of writing and way off the pace – with a certain player from the Bundesliga in Jamal Musiala being linked to Old Trafford at this current point in time.
Who could sign for Man United this January?
Before the news broke of Sheikh Jassim's bid falling through at the final hour to take over Man United from the unpopular Glazers, outlandish transfer rumours started popping up with a mega-money backing anticipated from the prospective Qatari owner.
Kylian Mbappe was even being linked with a transfer to Old Trafford, a statement signing to signal Man United's new intent in the transfer market and intent to transform the Red Devils back to a title-challenger in the Premier League.
Even with the Jassim bid collapsing, Sir Jim Ratcliffe – the INEOS owner who looks to be advancing with his £1.3bn deal to have a 25% stake of the football club – could well still pump adequate funds into the club with Musiala being sounded out as a player the Red Devils could potentially target in the new regime.
90min have reported this week that the 20-year-old Bayern Munich sensation should still commit to staying in Germany with a new contract, but the temptation of a Premier League move could be too strong for the youngster and will leave him with a big decision to ponder amid interest from not just United but Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal.
How does Musiala compare to Fernandes?
Since bursting onto the scene in Bavaria as a wide-eyed teenager – becoming Bayern Munich's youngest-ever player when featuring versus SC Freiburg at just 17 years of age – Musiala has never looked back and continues to be an exciting prospect for the Bundesliga powerhouse.
Last season, Musiala would score 12 league goals for the Bavarian giants in total from 33 games – outperforming his xG in the process, which stood at a lesser 8.02 per Sofascore.
Comparatively, Man United's main man in attacking midfield Bruno Fernandes registered eight goals from 37 matches played in England's top flight.
Games
47
59
Goals
16
14
Assists
16
15
Stats via Transfermarkt.
Musiala's dribbling ability is a standout feature of his overall game too, the player nicknamed "Bambi" for his youthful appearance playing way beyond his years by bamboozling senior Bundesliga defenders.
The "special" Bayern Munich prodigy – as dubbed by European football expert Zach Lowy – successfully completes 3.90 take-ons per ninety minutes according to FBRef, a forward-thinking talent that could help Man United become a far more ruthless team in attack.
The Red Devils have only scored nine goals from eight Premier League matches so far, leaving Ten Hag's outfit with an embarrassing -4 goal difference in the top-flight standings.
At just 20 years of age still, Man United signing Musiala, a player valued at an almighty £130m as per Football Observatory, could well see the importance of Fernandes lessen as the old guard at Old Trafford are gradually moved on for explosive, new talents.