Manchester United must avoid familiar transfer mistake after fresh Anthony Martial concern

Manchester United entered the January transfer window hell-bent on observing the action from the sidelines.

Club officials briefed fans in December of their determination to avoid spending this winter as they did not see it as an ideal time to purchase players. This was all well and good until their reactive approach to the market came back to haunt them on Wednesday.

Anthony Martial's groin surgery, which will keep him out of action for at least ten weeks, was a huge blow to the squad depth at Old Trafford. The Frenchman may not have set the world alight for some time, but United needed him thanks to the lack of centre-forward options.

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It has been mentioned a million times before but it is worth repeating. Having only two recognised centre-forwards in your first team is setting yourself up for failure.

Now Martial could miss the vast majority of the second portion of this season, the Reds now have a week to find someone who can replace him. Thanks to their stated ambition to spend as little as possible this month, this incoming will need to be either a free transfer or a loan signing.

Some of the players who have been linked this month fit into the possible available to loan or purchase for a nominal fee. However, almost all of them are coming to the end of their careers.

Take Karim Benzema for instance. He has been linked throughout the window with these rumours only now dying off because of him coming out and suggesting he isn't leaving Al Ittihad.

On Thursday, the suggestion of Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski was mentioned. Again, another good striker but whether Barca would sell him