Manchester United Dugout

As January 1 approaches closer, the transfer rumors keep getting intense. Manchester United has been linked with several players in the last two months, primarily because the world knows that they haven't spent anything from their $80mn after the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.

Top players in Europe like David Villa, Franck Ribéry, Marouane Chamakh, Maicon and Yaya Touré have been linked with a move to Old Trafford. Manchester United have so far only made an official bid for Angel Di Maria, which was rejected by Benfica. The Argentine sensation has attracted huge interest from many European clubs after his impressive performances at Estadio da Luz.

There are 3 more players who are said to be monitored by the scouts of Sir Alex Ferguson. These players are Khouma Babacar, Simon Kjaer and Christian Stuani. Lets take a closer look at these players, in case, you haven't heard about them before.

Khouma Babacar is a Senegalese striker who currently plays for Fiorentina. He has been touted as the "new Didier Drogba" and clubs like Real Madrid are after him. He could play alongside his compatriot Mame Biram Diouf who was signed by Manchester United from Molde last summer and has been granted work permit recently.

Simon Kjaer is a young defender from Denmark who currently plays for Italian side Palermo. He has ruled out a move to Old Trafford saying he is happy at Palermo. While a January move seems unlikely, Kjaer may become a Red Devil during summer 2010.

Christian Stuani is the third player linked with Manchester United recently. He is an Uruguayan striker who currently plays at Albacete after being loaned from his holding club Reggina. He has been in top form in La Segunda having scored eleven times in 16 games. Real Zaragoza are also closely following Stuani's progress.

The big rumor of the day is Valencia's duo of David Villa and David Silva are heading to Old Trafford. Manchester United plans to raid Spain as they are also linked with Villarreal's goal keeper Diego Lopez.

This comes straight after Valencia FC told David Villa - You can go your own way.

It is being said the United will pay £50m for Villa and his team-mate David Silva. But frankly speaking, I feel that this is far from a done deal. Not that United lack the required funds, but I can't understand what kind of team Fergie wants to build.

After the sale of CR7, Man Utd got $80m and Fergie spent only $17m to bring in Valencia from Wigan this summer. So there are all the required funds with United but David Villa has time and again show his reluctance in moving out of Spain. Also, David Silva has expressed his desire to play for Liverpool, if he arrives in England.

As far as Diego Lopez is concerned, I am pretty sure Villarreal will definitely create some awkward conditions as they like to create problems for Manchester United. Remember how they had behaved when Fergie planned to bring in Marcos Senna from Spain? The yellow submarines are a hell of a club. The arrival of Lopez looks distant after CSKA Moscow's goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was linked with United.