Erik ten Hag has made risky Manchester United call amid Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrival

Heading into the 2022/23 campaign, very few people thought Manchester United's squad could do without further additions.

Gaps plagued the United squad particularly in the forward areas and this was before an opening couple of months of horrendous injury issues. Then the action started and it was clear this team had lost any momentum they built during Erik ten Hag's debut campaign.

The Reds have failed to show consistency and have struggled to string together more than a couple of good results in a row. New signings have struggled to settle and United fans were desperately awaiting January for fresh blood to be introduced.

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However, the Fans' Forum earlier this week put paid to those dreams and supporters are already bracing themselves for a quiet start to 2024. What may have come as a surprise to many was Ten Hag's comments during his press conference on Friday.

When asked to look ahead to next month, the Dutchman gave this surprising verdict on his squad. "The current squad, I am happy," he explained.

"As we get our players back, we have a good squad, a lot of the way it went in the first season, the reasons behind because many players were not available. I am sure when all players are on board it looks different, Casemiro, [Lisandro] Martinez, [Mason] Mount, we will be much stronger after the window."

While the comments regarding being happy with his current squad are surprising, what is perhaps more shocking is the three players which he is holding out hope on turning the Reds' struggles around. Casemiro and Mount have both struggled this season and although they have plenty of quality, there has been little evidence