Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant is not expecting Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to splash the cash, with the Red Devils prepared to be patient
Manchester United will not “do anything” in the January transfer window, claims Rene Meulensteen, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer considered to be “happy with the squad he’s got”.
The Red Devils have seen their ranks bolstered by the arrival of Amad Diallo, with the highly-rated 18-year-old completing a move from Atalanta that was agreed in the summer of 2020.
It has been suggested that Solskjaer should be looking to build on that deal by adding another centre-half to his squad, with Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos mooted as a possible target.
Meulensteen, though, cannot see any further business being carried out before the next deadline passes, with a few quiet weeks on the recruitment front set to be taken in at Old Trafford.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s former right-hand man told talkSPORT when asked if he expects Solskjaer to spend: “Not really.
“I don’t think they’re really going to do anything in the January transfer market, I think that’s been made clear by Ed Woodward and Ole.
“I think they’ve got clear ideas on how to take it forward, it’s a long-term process and I think he’s happy with the squad he’s got.
“If they had all their players available against Man City, including [Edinson] Cavani, it could have been a different game.
“I don’t think they will do anything.”
United suffered a derby defeat to City in their latest outing, with a 2-0 Carabao Cup reversal seeing Solskjaer’s side come unstuck in a fourth successive semi-final appearance.
Questions are being asked of whether the Red Devils can bring a four-year wait for major silverware to a close this season, with Meulensteen looking for the club’s class of 2020-21 to take important lessons from the iconic reign of Ferguson.
The Dutchman added: “If you look back at the amount of United wins in the last minute of games and extra-time, it was all based on keeping the pressure on but mainly making sure there was the quality and the composure.
“The game that springs to mind was the game also against City when Michael Owen scored the winner, and if you look at that, that was on the highest quality when Ryan Giggs played in the ball to Owen.
“Sir Alex would never have allowed that [how United ended the game on Wednesday night].
“He would have changed things tactically to put more pressure on the opposition and force them to make mistakes. But there was always quality that got the goal that was getting us the draw or the win.”