Moyes hoping to bring former Sky Blue Boateng back to Manchester

Manchester United are reportedly tracking Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng as a possible replacement for outgoing captain Nemanja Vidic.

Formerly a player of bitter rivals Manchester City for a season – where he was arguably seen as a flop – the defending Premier League champions are desperately scouring the world in search of talent in preparation for next season.

David Moyes (9/2 to be next manager to leave) has a lot of work to do in the summer to save a club who have dramatically failed on all fronts so far this term. They are out of both domestic cup competitions, have odds of just 15/8 to progress into the Champions League quarter finals and, more importantly, are seventh in the league and 12 points behind fourth place.

Boateng has played in all but five Bundesliga games for Munich this season, and incredibly his side won 19 and drawn once in those 20 matches.

Primarily deployed in central defence, the Germany international can also be used as a full back, but United need to replace Vidic – who will leave for Inter Milan in the summer – and Rio Ferdinand, who is out of contract.

Following the Red Devils’ demoralising 3-0 home loss to Liverpool, they are in need of players with a fresh mind. Boateng has won six trophies with Bayern since moving there in 2011 – including the Bundesliga and Champions League, and his winning mentality would be a welcome boost.

With 37 caps for World Cup third-favourites Germany (11/2) and still being just 25-years-old, he certainly has the correct credentials for United, but his former links with City and his somewhat calamitous and injury-prone reputation may put Moyes off.

However, the 20-time league champions have odds of just 20/1 for a top four finish, so attracting world class players could be very difficult in the summer.