Manchester United have now made contact for an impressive defensive target as Erik ten Hag begins to step up his recruitment drive ahead of the January transfer window.
Manchester United updates
The Red Devils narrowly defeated Fulham in the Premier League at the weekend courtesy of a late strike from captain Bruno Fernandes to pick up their fourth victory in six matches across all competitions; however, it is fair to say that they have trod a tightrope within their recent run of fixtures. In between defeats against Manchester City and Newcastle United at Old Trafford, Ten Hag's four victories have all come by a single-goal margin.
Incredibly, their triumphs against Brentford and Fulham both came courtesy of injury-time strikes; meanwhile, Andre Onana was called upon in the dying embers of the Red Devils' 1-0 win against Copenhagen in the Champions League to make a dramatic penalty save from Jordan Larsson to save his side's blushes at Old Trafford.
On Saturday, some of the travelling Manchester United contingent unveiled a banner that read 'play like you mean it' amid a spate of underwhelming Red Devils' performances this term. Scotland international Scott McTominay revealed after the Fulham clash that the banner actually helped to spur his side on to claim three points at Craven Cottage.
He told TNT Sports: "We seen it, we seen the banner before the game and a few of us said, 'You know what? The fans pay good money to come and watch us every week and the support is relentless towards us every single week. We just want to repay them as best we can. Things aren't going the best at the moment but it's building blocks. Step by step and with the manager, the coaching staff, we trust them a lot, we trust the players and I feel we can go and kick on and do better."
Now, encouraging reports have emerged regarding Manchester United's pursuit of a January target who could help to alleviate the pressure on Ten Hag's shoulders.
Manchester United make enquires for Sacha Boey
Taking to social media platform X, RMC Sport journalist Fabrice Hawkins has confirmed that Galatasaray full-back Sacha Boey is a target for Manchester United, who have officially enquired about the availability of the Frenchman amid his contract stalemate at the Turkish giants. Boey's contractual situation could see him available as a free agent in the summer of 2025, having failed to agree a one-year extension to his current deal.
Sacha Boey defensive statistics 2023/24 – Turkish Super Lig (WhoScored)
Clearances per game
1.4
Successful tackles per game
2.5
Interceptions per game
1.8
Detailing the Red Devils' initiation of direct contact with Galatasaray, Hawkins wrote: "Things are stuck for the extension of Sacha Boey at Galatasaray. No agreement has been reached on the terms of this one-year extension. Manchester United have made inquiries about the Frenchman."
Boey, who shares the same agency as Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw, CAA Stellar, has already featured 20 times for Galatasaray this term, registering one assist in the process (Boey statistics – Transfermarkt).
As per Milliyet transcribed via One Football, former Arsenal full-back Bacary Sagna has previously labelled Boey "great" amid previous links between the 23-year-old and Arsenal. Nevertheless, a move to Manchester United could now be on the cards for Boey as Ten Hag looks to bring in some extra quality come the January transfer window.