JAMIE JACKSON
Manchester United are steeling themselves for disappointment in the transfer window, accepting that key targets are unlikely to move mid-season and insisting they will not be panicked into widening their search despite poor results.
David Moyes, who was widely believed to be concerned about the depth of the squad in key areas when he took over from Alex Ferguson in the summer, is keen to bring in reinforcements and the club have £83 million in the bank, plus an unused £75 million credit facility, to draw on.
Senior sources insist manager and board are determined to resist a short-term fix, insisting any new players must be long-term signings of Champions League quality and refusing to deviate from a list drawn up over recent months by a revamped scouting team.
Summer team surgery
However, the club look set to be disappointed with Real Madrid unwilling to let
left-back Fabio Coentrao leave in January, and Atletico Madrid equally reluctant to sanction the departure of midfielder Koke.
United and Jorge Mendes, Coentrao’s agent, have agreed terms but Carlo Ancelotti, the Real head coach, said on Sunday: “No players are leaving and we’re not going to sign anyone. The window is closed for us.”
With the club hierarchy urging positivity and patience, Moyes will be urged to make the best of his squad until the summer when major surgery is expected, with several players coming and going.
This latest setback follows a summer of disappointment in the transfer market, characterised by a very public failure to land high profile targets such as Cesc Fabregas and Thiago Alcantara, after which Moyes and the vice-chairman Ed Woodward rejigged the scouting team.
The news comes as a blow to fans hoping for reinforcements in January and contemplating the consequences of four home defeats in all competitions in the past month. United now sit seventh in the league, 11 points behind leaders Arsenal, and lost at home in the third round of the FA Cup to Swansea on Sunday.
Tonight Moyes is expected to recall several big names for the tie at Sunderland.
Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra and David de Gea are all set to return after sitting out Sunday’s shock FA Cup home defeat.
Robin van Persie (thigh) and Phil Jones (knee) are unlikely to be involved. Marouane Fellaini (wrist), Ashley Young (shoulder) and Nani (hamstring) are out, Fabio starts a three-match ban and Rio Ferdinand faces a spell on the sidelines after injuring his knee at the weekend.
John O’Shea is fit to line up against his former club as Sunderland attempt to inflict further misery on Moyes, although Gus Poyet has great sympathy for the Scot and the pressure under which he finds himself.
He said: "It's difficult to feel it, but you can see it and I don't think it's nice, I don't. But I am sure that David first is strong enough and good enough to do the job, and secondly, everybody knew that after Alex Ferguson, it would be very difficult, very difficult. Time, he needs time and I hope he gets the time to prove he was and is still the right man for Manchester United."
Guardian Service
