Man United January transfer briefing: Which three players are on their radar, how they can get around limited budget and the six players they want to sell
Bad news, Manchester United fans – it may not get much better any time soon.
After another damaging defeat at home by Newcastle on Monday, new manager Ruben Amorim admitted he does not have much at his disposal to improve matters in January.
So any solutions will have to be quite creative to improve on United’s worst month since September 1930, losing six times.
But what can they do, who might arrive and who could be pushed out of the door? Here, as part of our series looking at Premier League clubs’ January transfer plans, our United expert Chris Wheeler answers the five big questions.
1. What do Manchester United need?
An awful lot judging by the wretched run of results that have seen United drop to the fringes of the relegation battle.
Manchester United are on a dismal run of form as they head into the January transfer window
Ruben Amorim (right) admitted he does not have much at his disposal to improve matters
A left wing-back is one of the priorities after right-footer Diogo Dalot has had to fill in while Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia come back from long-term injuries. Shaw may well end up being a central defender in Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 system when he is fully fit again.
A striker feels like another necessity with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee scoring just five Premier League goals between them so far this season. Zirkzee’s confidence looks shot after fans cheered his first-half substitution against Newcastle on Monday night.
United will struggle to do much business in January, but a midfielder and possibly reserve goalkeeper would be of interest if deals can be done.
2. Do they have money to spend?
Not really. After blowing £600million under Erik ten Hag, his replacement Amorim knows there isn’t much left over to get the players he wants.
Speaking after the defeat to Newcastle, he said: ‘We don’t have that possibility in January. It is not the case that I am arriving here and can spend a lot of money changing all the team. You know the situation so there’s not a lot of point talking about it.’
Having made losses of £300m over the last three years, United were struggling to comply with PSR even before they paid out more than £20m to replace Ten Hag and his staff with the new Portuguese coaching team.
They will have to sell to buy, or at the very least agree loan deals with an obligation to buy at the end of them.
After blowing £600million under Erik ten Hag, Amorim knows there isn’t much left to spend
United will have to sell to buy, or at the very least agree loan deals with an obligation to buy at the end of them
3. Which players are they interested in?
The main target at left wing-back is Nuno Mendes, who played for Amorim for two years at Sporting Lisbon. Mendes is at Paris Saint-Germain who want to extend his contract but may be willing to sell the 22-year-old player if he is reluctant to re-sign.
Amorim is keen to make a signing in January even though United have done a deal to bring in teenage Paraguay left back Diego Leon for £3m from Cerro Porteno in the summer.
A striker will be harder to sign in January but United have been linked with Victor Osimhen, currently on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli. There is a clause in the deal allowing Napoli to recall Osimhen in January and sell him if the right offer comes in, but United sources believe it is unlikely they could sign someone of his profile and salary at the moment.
If back-up goalkeeper Altay Bayindir leaves in search of first-team football, United are understood to have looked at Royal Antwerp’s Senne Lammens as possible competition for Andre Onana.
The main target at left wing-back is Nuno Mendes, who played for Amorim at Sporting Lisbon
4. Who might leave?
The growing crisis at United means practically everyone is for sale at the right price with just a few exceptions.
Homegrown players like Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo count as 100 per cent profit on the PSR balance sheet and thus are worth approximately four times as much as their team-mates.
United would listen to offers for Rashford, one of their highest earners on £315,000 a week who was left out of four games before returning on the bench against Newcastle. It may have to be a loan move with an obligation to buy at the end of the season, as was the case with Jadon Sancho’s switch to Chelsea in the summer.
United have been keen to offload top earner Casemiro for some time, as well as £82m flop Antony, while Zirkzee has also been linked with a swift exit following his difficult start at Old Trafford.
Other players like Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof could go but are out of contract in the summer and unlikely to command a fee.
United would listen to offers for Marcus Rashford, one of their highest earners on £315,000
5. What unexpected moves should fans keep an eye on?
Despite all the noise around Rashford, Garnacho’s value is actually greater based on his higher transfer fee and lower wages. United could sell him for more and not have the problem of paying off a huge contract that still has three and a half years to run.
Like Rashford, Garnacho has fallen out of favour under Amorim and played the last four matches off the bench after also being dropped for the Manchester derby.
Having previously been seen as untouchable under Ten Hag, the Argentina winger is less of a natural fit for Amorim’s 3-4-3. United are still unlikely to sell him but a combination of factors would at the very least make United give any offers some consideration.
