The shock defeat at home to Tottenham on Wednesday put a huge dent in Manchester United's hopes of mounting a serious Premier League title challenge.
It ended their six-game winning streak and while a successful defence of their crown is not out of the question it could be that the Red Devils may have to concentrate their efforts on bagging some trophies elsewhere.
Manager David Moyes will hope to use this transfer window to speed up his rebuilding job of the team with additions to his squad this month and here we have a round-up of the transfer news and rumours from January 1.
Thursday's Manchester United transfer stories from the Daily Mirror
Juventus star Arturo Vidal could be on his way to Old Trafford in a mega-money move.
The 26-year-old is not believed to be in any rush to leave Turin, but according to French newspaper Le 10 Sport he could be persuaded to change his mind.
The Chile international has been in fine form this season and weighed in with his fair share of goals from midfield.
Vidal has found the net 12 times for his club this campaign including a magnificent Champions League hat-trick against FC Copenhagen on November.
Thursday's Manchester United transfer gossip and rumours from other newspapers and websites
Reports in Romania suggest that one of the first people to benefit from the relaxation of rules to allow more people from eastern Europe to work in this country could be Dinamo Bucharest’s Dorin Rotariu.
The highly-rated winger joined the club on a free back in the summer and has gone on to produce some sizzling displays this season that have alerted a number of Premier League sides.
But now it seems that United have stepped up their chase for the youngster, with Dinamo Bucharest’s owner Ionut Negoita confirming their interest and hinting a deal could be done.
“If we wanted to, we could sell Dorin Rotariu this winter for a lot of money,” he told Romanian website Sport Total.
“I had a good offer and I took it into consideration. The interest of Manchester United for Rotariu is 100% real but we cannot now speak of a transfer. He has to play one season at Dinamo, make performances and only then can he think about leaving abroad. There’s a time for it.”
One player who may not be on his way to Old Trafford is France midfielder Remy Cabella.
Newcastle United are in talks with Montpellier about adding him to their already substantial French contingent in the north east.
The 23-year-old has been linked with Manchester United for many months now with Moyes said to be a big admirer of the versatile midfielder.
£14 million would be enough to prise the talented winger away from Montpellier according to their president Louis Nicollin as we reported back in October. But the interest of Magpies boss Alan Pardew may force the hand of Moyes in the coming weeks.
Youngster Michael Keane is set to stay with in-form Derby for the another month according to the Derby Telegraph.
The 20-year-old defender was supposed to return to Old Trafford when his current loan spell ended following the Rams' 1-0 defeat to Wigan.
But the two clubs have agreed a new deal which means he will be able to play against Chelsea in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Click here to see all the Manchester United transfer news during the January window.
