Ruben Amorim's wild £147m January transfer window at Man Utd predicted
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The Ruben Amorim era is officially underway at Manchester United - although his Red Devils debut was not quite the ‘utopia’ one commentator suggested it would be inside the opening two minutes at Ipswich Town.
Of course, nobody is doubting an Amad Diallo inspired opening that was neatly converted by Marcus Rashford provided Amorim with something of a dream start to his reign as head coach - but there was a lot of work to do before anyone could celebrate a first win against a lively Tractor Boys side. Indeed, the game probably provided the former Sporting CP head coach with a short, sharp realisation of just how much work he has ahead of him as he witnessed the positives and negatives within the squad he has inherited from Erik ten Hag.
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Hide AdThere seems little doubt Amorim will hope to put his own stamp on his squad when the January transfer window opens for business - but how could it play out? We fire up Football Manager 2024, use the editor to update the United squad to its present state and simulate the January transfer window to see who arrives and who departures during the winter training period.
Who departed in January?
Unsurprisingly, there were a whole host of departures in January as United took the opportunity to move on a number of players that were heading towards the end of their current deals at Old Trafford. Defensive departures were high on the agenda as Victor Lindelof joined Celtic on loan until the end of the season in a deal that brought an end to his time with United and Harry Maguire also left as he joined former club Leicester City in a £15m deal.
Christian Eriksen was allowed to join Saudi club Al-Shabab on a free transfer and young duo Ethan Wheatley and Daniel Gore were granted Championship loan moves as they joined Middlesbrough and Coventry City respectively. However, the biggest outgoing came as Antony’s underwhelming spell with United was brought to a close as he departed to join Paris Saint-Germain in a £54m deal.
Who arrived in January?
Amorim wasted little time in adding to his ranks as he was handed a first opportunity to add to his squad during the first month of the new year. A new attacking option was secured as Lille star Jonathan David was captured in a £30m deal as United took advantage of the forward’s decision to not sign a new deal with the Ligue 1 club.
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Hide AdA new defensive option was captured with the £20m agreement for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah and Angel Gomes made a return to Old Trafford in a £15m as he also entered the final six months of his deal at Lille. A final new addition came on the final day of the window as Inter Milan full-back Denzel Dumfries arrived in a £13m deal. There were two further pieces of business to note as young duo Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo both put pen to paper on new five-year contracts.
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