Manchester United have enjoyed a solid transfer window. The Red Devils have added five new players, as Louis van Gaal wants to sculpt the squad to his own taste. However, there’s still a lot of business left to be done.

For instance, the attacking areas of the pitch needs reinforcement, following the departures of Angel di Maria and Robin van Persie. If the reports are to be believed, United are keen to tie up the deal for Barcelona forward Pedro Rodriguez within this week. Fans of the club could point out that centre-defence require an immediate surgery too.

Having already signed Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the summer, Manchester United probably do not need another midfielder, but reports in Italy suggest, United haven’t given up on signing Lazio’s highly rated Argentine defensive midfielder Lucas Biglia. 

Earlier this month, Gazzetta hello Sport claimed that Manchester United had lodged a €25m bid for the Argentine midfielder but Lazio are only willing to sell for around €40m. The Serie A club have offered Biglia a contract extension, but United are looking to tempt him with a better pay package.

Lazio, like United, have a Champions League play off at hand, against German outfit Bayer Leverkusen. Italian newspaper Tuttosport claim that Lazio manager has demanded full focus from his players ahead of the tie, but the preparations have been hampered with United’s continuous attempt to lure Biglia away from Stadio Olimpico. 

Lazio are hopeful of keeping him at the club, but at the same time understand they would be powerless if United or any other big European club offer a large sum on the table. 

A reason why Lazio have started looking for reinforcements elsewhere. The Biancocelesti are not looking for a direct like-for-like replacement rather they want to improve the attacking department. Lazio therefore have shifted their attention to Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli, who has fallen out of favour of manager Brendan Rodgers at Anfield. If Manchester United sign Biglia in coming weeks, Lazio could use the money to sign Balotelli from Liverpool. All hypothesis.