Manchester United Scouting Roma and Atletico Madrid Stars as Carrick Replacement

According to reports from the Star on Sunday, Manchester United have been scouting both Radja Nainggolan and Saul Niguez as targets for the January transfer window. 

Jose Mourinho is reportedly on the lookout for a replacement for Man United captain Michael Carrick, with the Roma and Atletico Madrid stars reported targets.

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Reports claim scouts from the Red Devils were sent out last week to watch the two possible targets go head-to-head in their Champions league group stage tie, which finished 0-0.

Carrick, despite being club captain, has yet to feature in the Premier League this season and could be surplus to requirements in January with Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba preferred in midfield.

Despite being linked numerous times over the past few seasons, most strongly with Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea this the summer, Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan signed a new contract that should tie him down in the Italian capital until 2021.

As for Saul, he also agreed a new deal with his club in the summer. Somewhat astoundingly, the 22-year-old Spanish international signed a new nine-year contract at Atletico Madrid, one of the longest in football history, that will run until 2026.

However, with Manchester United being one of the richest clubs in the world, if Mourinho wants one of the two men there's no doubt United will be willing to pay another extortionate fee to get their man. This is something they have already proved with the £75m purchase of Romelu Lukaku this summer.

Carrick has been at Manchester United for 11 years now, making over 300 appearances in that time. His leadership qualities and work-rate have made him a favourite throughout the club, but at 36-years-old it now seems as though Mourinho is looking for a younger model.