Victor Osimhen is a potential United transfer target next summer, but not in January

When it comes to the transfer market in January, the issue that needs to be answered for Manchester United is how they will replace a striker who has scored a goal every 350 minutes so far this season.

Okay, maybe that was a little tongue in cheek, but it's not like Erik ten Hag is attempting to replace prime Cristiano Ronaldo in the first month of 2023. Okay, maybe that was a little tongue in cheek. This season, the Dutchman has led United to the verge of finishing in the top four despite Ronaldo rather than because of the Portuguese forward's play.

Even though Ronaldo scored the game-winning goal at Goodison Park back in October, this season in the Premier League he has only one goal to show for his efforts. His other goals came in the match against Sheriff Tiraspol, including one that was scored on the penalty spot. This season, the 37-year-old player has not been very impressive, and it is quite unlikely that Ten Hag's squad would have been in a significantly different position in the Premier League if they were forced to play without him for the rest of the current campaign.

Therefore, although bringing in a striker would unquestionably give United an advantage in the second half of the season, the question remains as to whether it is worthwhile to compromise United's more long-term transfer plans in order to pursue an option that is seen as possibly only a short-term fix.

United believes that they have improved its recruitment methods over the past several years by placing a larger emphasis on data and increasing their capacity to rapidly develop shortlists for each post. However, the shortlist of candidates for an elite-level striker during the summer transfer window will be stronger than the shortlist of candidates for a forward who is available during the middle of the season.

When the manager at the club needs a job to be filled, the club's recruitment experts will often offer him with a list of potential candidates, however there are occasions when this procedure is not followed. When Odion Ighalo was signed as an emergency striker in the winter of 2020, he had not been a forward that had been tracked before to that point.

Ighalo did what was expected of him, scoring five goals and creating an impact that was worthy of a last-minute loan signing, despite the derision that was directed toward United's decision to recruit him.

Ighalo's name, however, will not be brought up in any recruitment discussions that take place between now and January 1. United originally intended to recruit a striker in the summer of 2023; however, they did explore moving up the signing by one year when there was interest in RB Salzburg teenager Benjamin Sesko. United's aim was to sign a striker in the summer of 2023.

As a result of the Slovenian signing a pre-contract deal with RB Leipzig, it would appear that he is no longer available for transfer. Both Napoli's sharpshooter Victor Osimhen and AC Milan's forward Rafael Leao will almost surely garner interest from the Premier League this summer. Victor Osimhen plays for Napoli, and Rafael Leao plays for AC Milan.

The issue for United is that it is quite unlikely that either will be available in the month of January. It is highly unlikely that Napoli will even contemplate moving Osimhen given how well their season has gone so far, and Milan would require a significant offer before they would let a player like Leao leave in the midst of the season.

If United want to wait for a player of that kind of calibre, they need to strike a compromise between their short-term wants for a forward in January and their desire to wait for a player of that sort of calibre. They could certainly get by without him as long as Anthony Martial stays healthy for the rest of the season, but doing so would be taking a significant risk.

With only a moderate contribution from Ronaldo and Martial, United has closed the gap to within three points of the top four and has a game in hand. This is an encouraging development. However, after the World Cup is over, they are likely to face increasingly difficult competition from Chelsea and Liverpool.

If Manchester United are successful in qualifying for the Champions League this season, it will improve Ten Hag's financial situation for the upcoming offseason and make Old Trafford a more alluring destination for players. However, if they are unable to sign a forward in the month of January, it may put those goals in jeopardy.

You can understand why Ten Hag and football director John Murtough are having a hard time deciding what to do in this situation. They do, at the very least, have some spare money with which to experiment.

Because Ronaldo did not leave the club in exchange for a pay-off, the organization was able to save approximately £16 million in wages. This will be a huge savings between now and the conclusion of the season, and it may be used in January to sign a forward.

It is clear that a sum of this magnitude will not be enough to entice a forward of world-class caliber; however, it might be sufficient to sign someone who can be a valuable short-term option without detracting anything from the budget for the summer.

The second obstacle would be to locate a striker who would be willing to sign for such a sum of money, but United's improved use of analytics in the recruitment process might help them overcome this obstacle.