A little over six weeks stand between Manchester United and the start of the January transfer window.
The mid-season trading period will represent new head coach Ruben Amorim’s first opportunity to put his own stamp on the squad he has inherited from Erik ten Hag.
Amorim has arrived at Old Trafford tasked with the challenge of returning the club to its former glories. To achieve that mission, however, yet more patience and several more transfer windows will be required.
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It means the January window could be quite a low-key event in M16, just as it so often is every year. United have not made a permanent signing in the winter window since swooping for Amad in 2021.
Nevertheless, Amorim is unlikely to submit a blank piece of paper to the United hierarchy when it comes to his post-Christmas wishes. There are areas within the squad that need strengthening ahead of the second half of the campaign.
The goalkeeping department, however, is not one of them. United are well-stocked between the posts and only a serious injury to Andre Onana is likely to force them to dip into the market to bolster that position.
Onana is expected to remain the club’s first-choice goalkeeper under Amorim and will be keen to continue improving. He has more clean sheets than any other Premier League shot-stopper so far this term.
Although Amorim refused to get hung up on formations in his first interview since arriving at Old Trafford, instead focusing on his desire to give United an identity again, the expectation is that he will install his preferred 3-4-3 system, meaning a switch to a three-man defence.
When everyone is fit, United are well-stocked in the centre-back department. After signing both Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt in the summer, there is no need for them go searching for another central defender after Christmas.
Expected to return from his long-term injury lay-off soon, Yoro should have played his way into Amorim’s first-choice XI by the end of January, joining forces with Lisandro Martinez and De Ligt in the back-three. It is a trio that looks particularly strong on paper.
The three-at-the-back system means the introduction of wing-backs. United have been light in the full-back department so far this season, relying on Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui to do all of the heavy lifting. Luke Shaw has not played since February and Tyrell Malacia has not featured for the first-team since the final day of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Dalot and Mazraoui are likely to push each other in pursuit of the right-sided wing-back berth, whereas there is a need to strengthen on the opposite side of the pitch. Shaw, as good as he is when he is fit, is unreliable, leaving Malacia as the only senior left-sided defender who is a natural on that side of the pitch.
To strengthen that particular department, United could explore the possibility of re-signing Alvaro Fernandez, who joined Benfica permanently in the summer. United have a buy-back option on the Spaniard that remains active until the 2026 summer transfer window.
He has excelled in Benfica colours so far this season and could be a creditable option for the left wing-back role. Amorim is likely to know everything about the 21-year-old having worked in Portugal.
It remains to be seen what combination Amorim will settle on in the centre of midfield. On paper, Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte could offer the Portuguese chief most balanced paring.
Ugarte, who worked with Amorim at Sporting Lisbon, has the capacity to become the defensive shield United need, freeing up Mainoo to become a little more adventurous with the ball. The England international has proven he is a forward-thinking player.
Amorim will have to experiment to find the right attacking combination, but the prospect of a 3-4-3 system being introduced means skipper Bruno Fernandes is likely to be pushed into the front-three, operating as an inverted winger from either the right or the left side.
Rasmus Hojlund is poised to remain United’s main man up front, though signing a striker in January would be a welcome addition. Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Amad and Antony will all be competing for the final place in Amorim’s preferred XI, but it is Amad, certainly currently, who is worthy of it most.
United’s dream post-January window XI: Onana; Yoro, De Ligt, Martinez; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Mainoo, Fernandez; Amad, Hojlund, Fernandes.
