Man Utd line up Premier League star for January transfer in boost for Mauricio Pochettino

· Mirror

Mauricio Pochettino will be looking to add new faces to his Manchester United squad in January and the club have their sights set on Fulham's Calvin Bassey after a fine start to the season

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Calvin Bassey is emerging as a serious target for Manchester United ahead of the January transfer window, it has been claimed.

United are expected to be active in the winter window after installing Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach. The Argentine arrives at Old Trafford following the club's disastrous start to the season, with Pochettino inheriting a team who have won just one of their 10 Premier League games this term.

One of Pochettino's first and most important tasks will be improving United's shoddy defensive record, with the Red Devils dropping into the relegation zone after shipping 19 goals in 10 games.

With defensive reinforcements highly likely to be on Pochettino's January wishlist, The Telegraph are reporting that Bassey is one player of interest.

The 26-year-old has impressed for Fulham this season and is viewed as a 'strong option' for United, who would benefit greatly from Bassey's pace and power.

Bassey, a Nigeria international, is into the final 12 months of his contract at Craven Cottage which could tempt Fulham into doing business mid-season for a premium price. The London outfit do, however, hold an option to keep Bassey in west London for a further year.

The Fulham head coach, Alvaro Arbeloa, has lauded Bassey publicly and would like to keep the former Ajax and Rangers star. “Calvin is one of the best defenders in the Premier League,” Arbeloa said recently. “He plays at a high level with and without the ball. He is doing so well.”

Gary Neville highlighted the need for Manchester United to recruit new defenders in January following last week's 4-4 draw with Aston Villa. Speaking on NBC Sports, he said:

> “The reason Manchester United have conceded four goals is because they haven’t invested in the defence in the transfer window. Every one knew they had to do that, they needed defenders. The current ones are making mistake after mistake after mistake. > > “The defenders that finished that game will get you relegated. Watch the defensive errors… we all screamed in the transfer window that they have to bring some defenders in. They had to bring the transfer budget forward and bring defenders in.”

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