Manchester United to sign Bundesliga midfielder?

Manchester United are set to make contact with Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria in January.

The Switzerland international has snubbed a new deal at Monchengladbach, and he can leave for free when his contract expires next summer.

A number of clubs including Barcelona and Arsenal are lining up pre-contract offers, but United will attempt to beat them to his signature.

According to Blick, the Red Devils are focused on landing a defensive midfielder, and Zakaria is one of the prime transfer targets.

They are prepared to hand him a signing-on fee of around £10m in order to have the edge over their European rivals in the pursuit.

United have also been linked with West Ham United's Declan Rice, but they are unlikely to meet the Hammers' £100m valuation.

The club currently lack a solid defensive midfielder, and that has been shown with their poor run of league form in recent months.

They are presently seventh in the standings with 17 points, having suffered five defeats from the previous seven matches.