It has been a topsy-turvy ride so far for Manchester United under Erik ten Hag. A lot was expected from the Dutch manager considering the pedigree he had built up at his former club Ajax.
The summer transfer window was a success as United brought in five players on a permanent basis and one on loan as Ten Hag went about moulding the squad in his own image.
United started in disastrous fashion, losing the opening two games before embarking on a run of good results which highlighted the hard work that the players had put in under the new boss.
Apart from the Manchester Derby drubbing and an away loss to Aston Villa, the Red Devils have been in decent nick and are currently fifth in the table, just three points behind fourth with a game in hand.
Internal transfer meeting on the cards
There are however gaps to fill in the squad, most notably in the right-back spot and in attack. Diogo Dalot has been the right-back position his own, but the club currently do not have a worthy back-up.
While the club’s initial plan was to wait until the summer to address the striker problem , the sensational departure of Cristiano Ronaldo means those plans have been pushed up.
Cody Gakpo on big transfer in January: “I have to be honest, I am not thinking about that now. I am focused on the World Cup, want to keep performing well”, tells @TheAthleticFC. 🚨🇳🇱 #transfers #MUFC
“Hopefully when we become world champions we can think about other things”. pic.twitter.com/6355HSd9hX
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 3, 2022
A lot of names like Joao Felix, Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo have been mentioned as possible solutions with Gakpo seeming to be the ideal choice.
The Dutch international has been in scintillating form for both club and country and is his nation’s top scorer in the ongoing Qatar World Cup.
A price of £50 million has been mooted and Real Madrid are also in the race for the highly-rated PSV Eindhoven attacker. His compatriot Virgil Van Dijk had recently spoken about what would be the best move for the forward.
According to transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, the Old Trafford outfit will very soon have an internal meeting where they will discuss their transfer priorities for the January window.
Gakpo & RB main talking points
“There will be internal discussions on the striker and on Gakpo in the next days and we will see how Man United will proceed,” Romano said in his Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside.
The club will also discuss resolving the future of Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The right-back, a regular under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, is clearly not rated by the new boss.
His clumsiness with the ball at his feet and his inability to impact the team going forward have been cited as major reasons why the English defender has managed only four minutes this season.
“It’s possible for Wan Bissaka to leave as Man United have been very clear: they want to find a solution for him, though it’s still too early to say where he is going,” Romano added.