Manchester United keen to sign two stars In January

Since the Alex Ferguson era ended at Manchester United, nothing has gone right for the 20-time English champions but things have probably never been as bad they are now. 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first full season in charge of the club he used to grace the pitch for, has been dismal so far (with a few recent wins). Due to this, vice-chairman of the club Ed Woodward looks set to help the manager out in the upcoming winter transfer window.

Reports in England claim that the Red Devils are closing in on two new signings ahead of the January transfer window. Woodward is also actively looking for other possible reinforcements.

The club's first January signing is expected to be Juventus outcast Mario Mandzukic. The Croatian international has been linked with the Red Devils for quite some time now and a move almost materialized in the summer, but Manchester United later pulled out.

Mandzukic has been surplus to requirements at the Turin club, following the arrival of Maurizio Sarri. The Croatian was not even registered in the 23-man squad for the Champions League.

The 33-year-old  certainly has a point to prove after being treated harshly at Juventus and he will definitely get more opportunities at Old Trafford.

Manchester United offloaded both Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez in the summer without replacing either of them and that has hurt them dearly so far.

Neither Marcus Rashford nor Anthony Martial are proper centre-forwards and have struggled at times to find their scoring boots while playing up front. In Mandzukic, Solskjaer will surely have a good 'short-term' option up front who is experienced and proven across Europe.

Denis Zakaria is likely to be the second January signing at Old Trafford. The 22-year-old midfielder has impressed for Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga this season.

However, with the German side leading the Bundesliga table after eight games, Marco Rose is unlikely to be open to offers for his star midfielder.

The Swiss international could be an ideal replacement of Ander Herrera who left this summer for PSG. Zakaria is hard-working, defensively sound and quite decent in attack as well.

However, even if the Red Devils manage to pull off both the signings, they still have a long way to go in order to challenge the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.

Cover image credits: Fox Sports Asia