Manchester United enter the January transfer window in an odd position. The team sit in 6th position, tied with 5th place, poised to kick on and achieve their goal of Champions League football. However, the mood around the club does not reflect their spot in the league.
The team were booed off by their home fans in their game against Wolves after a dismal 1-1 draw, and the team have suffered heavy casualties in the last month, including the loss of captain Bruno Fernandes with a hamstring injury.
Reinforcements in the January transfer window would go a long way to patching the holes in the squad, not only in the short-term to deal with injuries, but for the long-term problems that Amorim and the club have failed to deal with.
January is always a quieter transfer window than its summer counterpart. Clubs have less money, players are more settled, the squad building for most teams is already complete.
United especially are known for conducting minimal business in the January window. Patrick Dorgu arrived last January in a £25m transfer from Lecce, but prior that, United's last first-team signing in a January window was in 2020, with the signing of Bruno Fernandes.
Most major deals in January only occur due to market opportunity. Manchester United initially pursued Antoine Semenyo as their January target, as did many other top clubs. This was due to a clause in his contract that made a £65m release clause active only in January 2026.
As it appears that Manchester City lead the pursuit of Semenyo and are likely to sign him in the coming days, United have already missed out on their only genuine target. So where do United go from here?
United have a lot of problems to be fixed in their squad. Their issue this January lies in the fact that many of their issues are too big to be fixed in the January transfer window: there are no more real game-changers like Semenyo on the market, and other players that United would target are closely guarded assets, at least until the summer window opens.
United are in dire need of midfield reinforcements. It would free up Bruno Fernandes to play a more advanced role, and would take pressure off the aging Casemiro. A new ball-playing midfield would revolutionise the side.
United's targets in this region are widely publicised: Carlos Baleba, Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, all players that will surely be targeted in the summer, but players whom United will be priced out of in January. United need to spend January plugging small holes in their team. Fixing the big leak will have to wait.
The obvious problem that must be fixed immediately is the left wing-back role. The majority of United's attacking threat comes down its right-hand side, and its not hard to see why: Bryan Mbeumo and Amad make for a ferocious duo, and losing them to AFCON has exposed flaws in the rest of the team.
Patrick Dorgu has shown flashes of quality, but his best performance came as a right-winger in United's Boxing day bout against Newcastle. Luke Shaw has played more as a centre-back, and Tyrell Malacia has been largely absent and seems destined for a transfer.
Diogo Dalot has filled in consistently at left wing-back, which has predictably gone poorly: a player who thrives in the middle sector of the pitch, who can barely cross with his strong foot, being forced to overlap and asked to favour his weaker foot. It's a weakness that consistently leaves United toothless in attack.
The options in this position are limited. Perhaps the 'top of the line' option is Álex Grimaldo of Bayer Leverkusen, but he likely be costly, especially in January. Other players like Federico Dimarco of Inter Milan might be more affordable, but still costly.
Given the smaller budget available and the lack of high-quality and acheivable options, United might have to ger creative. Amad was never considered a wing-back, but has transitioned incredibly well into that role. Semenyo was most likely earmarked for the left wing-back role, but as his priorities lie elsewhere, United may have to take a risk on some new talent.