Manchester United legend Paul Scholes says he would like the Red Devils to sign RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku or PSV’s Cody Gakpo.

The former midfielder admits it can sometimes be difficult to recruit players in January, but he believes there are options available to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo:

“I think there’s a couple of forwards they might look at. The kid at RB Leipzig that’s been linked with Chelsea, Nkunku. Centre forward is obviously the big position that needs filling. We have Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford who can both play there, but I think Marcus prefers being out wide and Antony’s injury record isn’t great.”

“January might be too soon [to replace Ronaldo], they’re probably looking at next summer now, but I do think there are players out there. The lad at PSV – Gakpo – is doing really well for the Netherlands at the World Cup and I think Ten Hag has been really interested in him before. There’s players out there for sure. January can be a tough window to do business but I hope we can do something and bring in a new centre forward.”

As Scholes mentions, Nkunku has been heavily linked with Chelsea and all the indications suggest that he could seal a move to Stamford Bridge very soon so that is probably a non-starter.

A bid for Gakpo is a lot more likely. The Dutchman revealed back in September that United were interested in doing a deal during the summer, before cooling their interest.

At the time, the Netherlands international would only have cost around £25m, but his asking price has since doubled after his strong performances in the World Cup. We shall see if Erik ten Hag’s side table an offer for the winger in the New Year.