Manchester United Dugout

Manchester United are said to be chasing Porto defender Rolando. Many have mistaken his name for “Ronaldo”, but folks, there was only one Ronaldo at Old Trafford and he’s gone.

Sir Alex Ferguson is going crazy due to his defense worries. Rio’s fitness worries and a bust up with Vidic (which I believe was a grapevine) have forced both these defenders to be out of action. And Fergie has found a solution to this problem by weighing up an £18million move for Porto defender Rolando.

Rolando is a young and tall defender who is strong in the air. The 24 year old and 6ft 3in tall central defender has featured in Portugal’s U21 side and has been recently called up to the senior Portugal squad. I am glad that Man United is strengthening their defense because of concerns over the futures of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Porto have put a price tag of £28m for Rolando and Fergie is in no mood to splash more than £18m. By the way, United are also linked with Bruno Alves who too is a Porto player.

Coming back to the Ronaldo and Rolando confusion, both of them share a few things in common. Here they are:

So if Fergie is able to bring Rolando to Old Trafford, do you think he can become John Terry for Manchester United?

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.

Manchester United just can't stop from being linked with numerous high profile players. The recent rumors link Yaya Touré, Franck Ribéry and Marouane Chamakh with the Red Devils.