Manchester United were forced to sign a new player after they lost a goalkeeper just hours into the January transfer window
The January transfer window is officially open, and it could be another busy one for Manchester United. The Red Devils are in the market for a new midfielder, while the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee may be on their way out of Old Trafford.
The winter window gives clubs the opportunity to improve their squads and kick on up the table. But sometimes managers are also caught out by injuries, surprise bids and loan recalls, causing them to dip into the market when they didn’t necessarily plan to.
United know more about this than some others. They were forced to get busy in January 2023 after Martin Dubravka was re-called by parent club Newcastle United.
Dubravka penned a season-long deal in summer 2022 and was introduced to provide competition for David de Gea but made only two appearances under Erik ten Hag.
Due to these limited minutes, Newcastle saw fit to re-call him just hours after the January window had opened, leaving United short.
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A United statement read: “We would like to thank Martin for his contribution during his time with our club, and wish him all the best for the future.”
Signing a goalkeeper certainly wasn’t part of the transfer plan that year, but it became a priority after Dubravka unexpectedly left the club.
Five days later, United got Crystal Palace shot-stopper Jack Butland on board at Old Trafford on a short-term contract to provide cover. Once he returned to Palace, Butland would then sign for Scottish club Rangers, who he now plays for.
In the summer of 2023, De Gea’s own reign in between the sticks at United came to an end, having been at the club since 2011. The Red Devils then acquired the services of Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir.
Onana was introduced to serve as the number one goalkeeper but he has now been shipped out to Trabzonspor on loan, with Senne Lammens the main man. Bayindir now serves as his back-up, with Tom Heaton third-choice.
Lammens has been solid in goal for United, who seem to have finally found their long-term successor to De Gea. He picked up the Player of the Match away in Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Discussing Lammens’ switch to Manchester from Royal Antwerp, the goalkeeper’s agent claimed that United originally planned to keep Onana at the club to mentor Lammens.
Speaking to Belgian outlet HBVL, Mark Volders said: “Those critical voices… the big problem was that they expected a very well-known name, like [Gianluigi] Donnarumma or [Emiliano] MartÃnez.
“But actually, for a long time, the intention within United was for Onana to stay and for Senne to be given time to adjust. Ultimately, they changed their tune right at the very end, Onana left, and fully embraced Senne. But in hindsight, you can only say that United was right about that.”
United will hope they don’t have to unexpectedly dive into the market this January, while there are eight names on a shortlist of midfielders who could arrive at Old Trafford this month.
