According to local reports Louis Van Gaal sent his scouts to watch Valencia at the weekend. This will undoubtedly fuel further rumours, the target is German centre back Shkodran Mustafi,
Van Gaal has earmarked centre back as an area where the club needs to invest. Smalling has been a revelation in that role this season and his progress will have pleased Van Gaal, and probably surprised him at the same time. With the absence of Jones through injury earlier this season, Blind was deployed as Smalling’s partner in the centre of defence.
Although Jones has shown glimpses of finding consistent form in recent performances, the jury is still out on the long term pairing, and more importantly on how many games Jones will actually be available for throughout a season.
Mustafi has represented Germany from U16 through to the national team, making his debut against Poland in May 2014. Having represented his country on 8 occasions, the 23 year old is a rising star.
Having started his career at Everton, where he only managed 1 appearance for the first team, he moved on to U.C.Sampdoria on a free transfer. His stock has continued to rise and he made a move to Valencia at the start of last season, where his performances have been attracting the likes of Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
With big clubs now targeting the German international, it remains to be seen how resolute Valencia will be on holding on to their centre back .The January transfer window not too far away this is one to keep an eye on.
