Ten Hag reveals Man Utd's 'five or six new signings' for January

Tom Weber

• Updated: 30 Dec 2023 10:03 GMT
• 3 min read

Erik ten Hag has teased 'five or six new signings' for January - but they're all familiar faces.

Manchester United are in the midst of a dire season, though spirits will be high heading into January after a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Aston Villa in which Rasmus Hojlund finally broke his Premier League goalscoring duck.

In addition to the Villa victory, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has, at long last, completed his minority takeover of the club's sporting operations and is set to shake things up at Old Trafford and flush fresh funds into the Red Devils' coffers. Whether Ratcliffe's investment, which is still subject to Premier League approval, will be felt in January with regards to new signings remains to be seen.

But Erik ten Hag has already teased that there will be 'five to six new signings' in the winter window. He was, of course, speaking about the return of several key players from injury.

Man Utd's injury crisis

January will be a big month for Man Utd, not just on the market and in the Premier League, but also in terms of the medical department. As many as seven players are due to return from the treatment table in January.

Lisandro Martinez and Amad Diallo will finally return from their long-term injuries, while the recent fitness issues of Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Casemiro and Mason Mount should also be overcome by that point. Squad player Tyrell Malacia is also due to be back on the pitch next month.

"I think we are very optimistic," Ten Hag said. "When the players return and now the luck is a little bit on our side in the matter of injuries, then we have five or six new signings in January. I think not any team can deal with so many setbacks we had. We are not satisfied but you have to be pleased with the number of points."

"When we have all the players back, we proved it against Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa, one two and three [in the league], we went to head-to-head. We could have won all the games. We showed how hungry we are, the determination and right mentality."

"It showed once again this squad is strong even with many players not on board. Even then, we can compete and go head-to-head with the strongest teams in this league, When the players are back we can beat anyone if the mentality is right. It’s up to us."