Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says the club are unlikely to sign any of their key targets in January and may opt to sign a couple of players on loan instead.

The Red Devils are desperately short of quality in some areas, especially up front and in midfield, but when asked about potential transfers when the transfer window reopens, Solskjaer said he thinks most of the players that the club are pursuing won’t be available:

“Probably not because that is the thing it is in January. Not many clubs want to sell players that they would otherwise want to keep in January.”

It seems the deals that United will strike in January will only be temporary moves:

“Maybe one or two could be a loan deal but that is not a big money thing, it is just to help the team. But we are getting players back and what we are looking at what can be available for us.”

If Solskjaer is indeed being truthful in his remarks, it means that targets such as Erling Haaland, Callum Wilson, Jadon Sancho, Moussa Dembele, Declan Rice, James Maddison, Jack Grealish and John McGinn will not be targets until the summer.

The eight players are said to be on United’s shortlist, but as things stand, it looks likely that no significant additions will be made to the squad to help with the club’s push for a top-four finish.