Manchester United will explore the possibility of signing Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels in the January transfer window.

According to reports from The Guardian, Louis van Gaal, in an attempt to fix his defensive problems, will turn his attention to Hummels, and the Dutchman is ready to dish out British transfer money for a defender to secure his signature.

Hummels was ear-marked as a target for next summer but Ed Woodward, the executive vice-chairman, is hopeful a deal can be done in January. The Guardian claim that Dortmund could be willing to sell as well, as it gives them the best chance to get a good value for money. 

“We are not looking to enter the market for short-term fixes,” Woodward told investors on Tuesday. “However, we have targets we are looking at for next summer. Should any of them become available in January, which is obviously rare, we will consider acting but it is a low probability.”

Hummels has two years remaining on his contract but United are looking to lure him now by paying over £32m, a British transfer record for a defender that Manchester City had paid for Eliaquim Mangala this summer.