Eric ten Hag says United want to sign a certain type of player in the January transfer window.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference before tomorrow’s Premier League match with Wolverhampton, recorded after the Nottingham Forest match on Tuesday, the coach said:
“We want to be in all leagues and continue to play in all leagues, as well as win cup matches. So you need players and good players to cover not only quantity, but also quality players. You also need competition so that you can make a technical choice.
“We are looking for a suitable player for our team, and he must meet the sporting criteria and, of course, some financial criteria.”
Then the boss was asked about the future of Aaron Van Bissaki.
The fullback appeared to be close to the exit door under Ten Hag, but has played in the last two games as Diogo Dalot is nursing a hamstring injury sustained during a World Cup appearance.
“First you have to be on the pitch, and in the first half of the season he was either injured or ill, so you don’t play a role in the team,” Ten Hag said.
“The break did him good. He could have played two games at the training camp, in Spain. Now he has played two games and feels very good. We needed competition in the team.”
His comments suggest that it is impossible to pursue a right-back in this window, and all attention is paid to finding a striker.
Ten Hag also mentioned the need to have a strong squad again, saying:
“We need a kick from the bench. I’m glad that a player came off the bench again; Fred scores a goal, and I think all the substitutes who came in tonight played very well.
“But also in attack, you need players coming off the bench, whether it’s to score a goal if you’re in the lead and you need to go on the counterattack or keep the victory on your side.
There was no information about the condition of Dalot’s injury and whether Lisandro Martinez will return to United in tomorrow’s match.
