Erik ten Hag doubles down on his pleas for Manchester United to sign an attacker in January

Erik ten Hag has underlined the importance of signing a striker in the January transfer window after Manchester United missed out on Cody Gakpo.

The PSV Eindhoven star completed his £44million transfer to Liverpool this week after United’s rivals hijacked his move to Old Trafford.

Ten Hag may be limited to loan deals in January after spending a club record £220m in the summer, and wants to sign players who can improve his squad rather than stop-gaps.

United were beaten to the signing of Dutch attacker Cody Gakpo by bitter rivals Liverpool

But the United boss also acknowledged that he needs strength in depth as well to cope with the demands of a heavy fixture schedule in the second half of the season due to the six-week break for the World Cup.

‘It’s always difficult. Strikers are expensive, especially in the winter,’ said Ten Hag.

‘But you have to set the limits high. We’re looking for it. We need to be creative and do everything we have in our power to get the right players in, who are fitting in the balance.

‘It’s about timing and availability. It’s about so many circumstances playing a role in that. It’s a long period and the window hasn’t even started.

‘I think we have a squad, we have players who are matching our criteria. But all the games are coming. It’s a tough competition, in all the leagues. We want to keep playing in all the leagues and in the cups as well. So we need players and we need numbers to cover.

Ten Hag feels United need players to provide additional cover to the forwards they have

United go into January one forward short following the acrimonious exit of Cristiano Ronaldo

‘We need good players, not just the numbers. We need quality players to cover. And also we need competition and we need to know also that we can make different choices. 

‘So we are looking for the right player for our squad, but it has to match our sporting criteria, definitely, but…