The January Transfer Window

Indeed, the winter transfer period is still a month away, but it's time to start thinking about it. I must say that nothing excites me quite like this time of year. Half of the season is over and most teams are able to assess what they're doing well and what they're missing. It's high time to strengthen an already strong squad and fill the holes in struggling sides. SO... who do I want in January?

Manchester United is obviously a very strong and talented group of players. We have world-class players on every part of the pitch. However, with the losses of Ronaldo and Tevez last summer, and only the addition of Michael Owen in the forward department, we need a striker. Rooney is absolutely fantastic, and Berbatov is great as well, but a top club needs more than two reliable strikers. What we need... is a DAVID VILLA.

The 27 year old Spanish winger currently plays for Valencia in Spain. Although he has had an impressive career, he has only really started to shine in the last couple of years. He managed to captivate the footballing world with his stellar performance for Spain in the Euro 2008 last summer, and his scoring record for his club is fantastic. While he is certainly capable of passing and making plays, his specialty is finishing. He scores goals. He is exactly what Manchester United needs. Rooney and Berbatov are both creative forwards. While more than able to score goals, they play best when they're able to play a bit deeper and create and work with space. I can only imagine how effective a Rooney-Villa partnership could be.

When Ronaldo left for Real Madrid, we lost a forward AND a winger. That's how good he was. It's time for United to get over the loss, though, and move on. Right now, we are very weak on the flanks. For starting wingers, we've got Nani, Valencia, and Giggs. Nani has been very poor lately (and as you may have read here, he's recently criticized Sir Alex...), Valencia is promising but unproven, and Giggs is only getting older. To fill in this large gap, we could use someone like... ARJEN ROBBEN.
Robben is 25, Dutch, and knows how to create magic on the wings. He's lightning fast, he has fantastic ball control, and his passing and crossing are sublime. He also seems very attainable, considering the fact that he currently plays for Bayern Munich in Germany. Bayern is buried in debt right now, and it's no secret that they NEED to sell players to fix up their finances.

Villa may be wishful thinking, but Robben is certainly a possibility. If we were somehow able to secure the both of them, I'm confident that Manchester United would instantly see huge improvements and begin playing even better.