Manchester United may use the upcoming January transfer window to add players to their roster to strengthen it after the World Cup.
Erik ten Hag was left without many options in attack when Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United amicably at the end of November following his fiery interview when he criticized the team. Injuries have afflicted Anthony Martial this season, and the manager has declared Jadon Sancho unfit to play, so United may aim to add to their roster in January.
In the summer transfer window, United spent almost £206 million on six new acquisitions, including Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Antony, Lisandro Martinez, and Tyrell Malacia. Before the transfer market opens, United is interested in several players, with Cody Gakpo of PSV and the Netherlands standing out.
So who could Ten Hag and United target if they had about £40 million to spend in the January transfer window? To find out, we simulated the January transfer window using Football Manager 2023.
To finish this simulation, we updated the United roster with the most recent suspensions and injuries, which allowed Football Manager 2023 to choose which players Ten Hag's team might recruit during the January 2023 transfer window. United was given a £40 million budget, and this is what transpired.
Three players were acquired by United during the January transfer window for slightly under £49 million in Football Manager 2023. Naci Unuvar, a promising youngster from Ajax, was the first player signed in the new year. His loan at Trabzonspor was cut short so that he could join United for £11.75 million.
Noa Lang was the recipient of the second move, which involved another forward. One of the upcoming top strikers is expected to be the 23-year-old,
In the 2022–23 campaign, Ten Hag sold Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who signed for Leicester City for £14.25 million. Zidane Iqbal and Bjorn Hardley went on loan to Stoke City and Spezia, respectively, while Donny van de Beek left on loan for the second straight January and joined Valencia.
How did United fare with the new personnel?
Terrier proved to be a wonderful purchase, scoring 13 goals in his first few months at the club, and United improved with their new signings. Lang and Univar both played in a small amount of time, but the former scored the decisive goal on the penultimate day of the season to help United finish third.
In the competitions, United made it to the FA Cup final, but Ten Hag's team was eliminated after a 2-0 loss to Chelsea. United was eliminated from the Europa League in the first round after losing to Barcelona 3-1 on aggregate, while they were also eliminated from the Carabao Cup in the quarterfinals after falling to Newcastle 1-0.
Overall, FM23 predicts that United may look for attacking players in the January transfer window. In the simulation, Ten Hag signs three attackers. It may be worthwhile for United to target developed players rather than youth if they want to finish in the top four this season. Terrier was the most experienced signing out of the three, and he had the biggest impact by scoring 13 goals.
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