Transfer Talk Thursday: Will Rene Adler’s Manchester United Wish Be Granted?

We’re edging towards the halfway point of the January transfer window, and thus far, it’s crickets from the Manchester United camp.

Still, that doesn’t prevent the rumors from flying in on a regular basis. Should we expect anything substantial to come of any of it? I stated my opinion on our need to buy in January (or lack thereof) last week, and while there’s no telling what the next few weeks could hold, we shouldn’t pin our hopes on a sexy new signing.

Nonetheless, transfer talk makes for good conversation, and on a regular basis, a good laugh.

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Much space recently has been devoted to David Beckham’s potential loan move to Tottenham, which as of right now, is in limbo.

Had it been completed earlier in the week, he likely would have been in the mix to face his former side and first and only true love this Sunday, with United visiting White Hart Lane in a crunch Premier League encounter, but it appears that the media will be deprived of that would-be storyline. That’s not a bad thing, as the focus should be on the importance of the match for both sides.

Should there be any sort of emotional backlash on the part of United fans given Becks’ previous comments about United being the only club he would play for if he were ever to return to the Premier League? A few years ago, perhaps, but now? It’d be understandable, seeing as how Tottenham are, for all intents and purposes, a title rival at this point. However, if the move does go through, and as stated, that’s up in the air at the moment, it’s tough to see him being the kind of game-changer that would enhance Spurs’ chances of getting close to or surpassing United, not least because the spell would be for less than two months.

If anything, it’s more of a help to him than Tottenham, in terms of being in tip top shape ahead of the new MLS season, having the opportunity to play with and against some top-tier talent, and making himself more visible to Fabio Capello, what with his hopes of landing a few more caps for England. Or something along those lines.

Besides, he wasn’t about to come back to United (wishful thinking on his part, that), we all know where his heart is and will always be, and it’s not as much of a wrench to see him training or signing with Spurs as Arsenal, Chelsea, or heaven forbid, City. If anyone should be up in arms about it, it should be Bruce Arena, given that the last time he made an offseason loan foray to Europe, he ended up with a ruptured Achilles…when, had he not been allowed to have his way, he would have been in the U.S. with his parent team. But I digress.

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Bayer Leverkusen keeper Rene Adler really, really, really wants to come to United. I’m all for making dreams come true, and United would do well to make his dream a reality.

It’s already been mentioned that there’s apparently a special release clause in his contract that pertains to United and United only, with the number in that clause being anywhere between 15-20m or more. That’s certainly not an unreasonable amount for someone who has both the talent and the time to hold down the #1 spot for many, many years. But if United play their cards right this summer, perhaps the eventual fee could be a little less, because said contract runs out next year.

It’s widely expected that United will move for another new keeper in the summer after landing Anders Lindegaard this month, and Adler should be at or near the top of the list. He’s 25, which is very young in keeper years, he’s already good and will only get better, he won’t cost an arm and a leg, and as mentioned, he really, really, really wants to play for United. If that’s not incentive to make a move, I don’t know what is.

As much has been said about Manuel Neuer, it must be remembered that Adler, not Neuer, would have been Germany’s #1 at the World Cup if he hadn’t suffered a rib injury that ruled him out of the running, so…

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We’re still being linked with Lassana Diarra, and the Sun is going as far as saying we’re primed to make a bid for him and that Jose Mourinho wouldn’t stand in the way of a move.

This comes after Jose Mourinho said just last week that Diarra, who has been starting on a regular basis recently (and in games that matter, at that), was very much in his plans. Sigh. Come on people, seriously.

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And also from the ‘someone must have been bored or needed to fill some space’ and ‘why did they bother to waste the minutes and energy needed to type this?’ departments come a few tidbits relating to current United players.

First up is the semi-regular speculation linking Real Madrid with a summer move for Javier Hernandez. Excuse me for a moment, but ¡jajajajaja! That is all.

And then there’s an equally laughable rumor about Juventus making a 25m offer for Nani. We’re in 2011, not 2001. Juve’s still working their way back up the relevance meter, and speaking strictly on value, 25m is well short (taking into consideration the price he arrived for, his age, his improvement, his future potential, and last but certainly not least, how important he’s been for United this season).

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And lastly, apologies for another prolonged absence and the lack of match reports for the last few matches. I’m in the process of relocating, and on top of that, winter weather caused issues last week and especially this week.