Manager says it’s possible the club may strengthen, although maybe not the positions they need the most
Ruben Amorim has said Manchester United will not make any panic buys in the January transfer window.
United spent over £200m on a new attacking force in the summer but are still wide open in midfield areas. The club have been linked to midfielders including Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba, but there is little hope of bringing in any of them in January.
Asked about the club’s plans in January, Amorim said: “We’ll see. The only thing that we know is that we would only try to bring players that we think are going to be the future.
“Even if we try to bring one player, maybe it’s not in the position that we need more. We will try to bring now, and at the end of the season, players that are perfect for our future.”
United have been extensively linked with Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo. The 25-year-old has a £65m release clause that is active during the first two weeks of the January window. He has also drawn interest from other top Premier League clubs, including Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, the latter of whom, like United, tried to sign him in the summer.
Having lost Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo to the Africa Cup of Nations for the rest of December and much of January, United will be temporarily weakened in attacking areas. Semenyo is a Ghana international but his nation failed to qualify for Africa’s showpiece event. But Amorim insisted the absences would not force United into the market.
“It’s not going to be to save something in this moment, to cope with the losses of three players for Afcon,” said Amorim. “It’s not going to be like that. I don’t know what is going to happen, but it’s possible that we can do something.”
