Kobbie Mainoo could soon face a Manchester United test Erik ten Hag didn't want to give him

It was the message almost no Manchester United fan wanted to hear: January should be a quiet month.

It already looks to be relatively quiet in terms of fixtures. United are out of the Carabao Cup and have seen one of their two planned games - a trip to Wolves - pushed back to February 1. There is an FA Cup third round clash at Wigan Athletic and hopefully a fourth round to follow at the end of the month, but even that would be just three in the whole of January.

Many supporters would hope to fill that footballing void with transfer activity, particularly given the woeful first half of the season they have endured. But chief operating officer Collette Roche has other ideas.

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"Looking ahead to the January transfer window, we are not expecting it to be particularly busy," Roche told last week's Fans' Forum. "There will always be the possibility of deals around the edges of the squad, particularly in terms of finding opportunities for players who are not playing as much football as they would like.

"However, we’ve always been consistent in saying that we do not see January as the optimal time to do business and our recruitment strategy remains focused on summer windows. We’ve seen this season that Financial Fair Play rules have real teeth, so we have to be very careful to ensure that we remain compliant, and we will.

"But that means being really disciplined on spending going forward, with a balance between incomings and outgoings."

Said outgoings have been well-documented and MEN Sport understands United are open to selling five players, all of whom have had an influence on the first