Sadio Mane's Saudi Pro League comments could be bad news for Manchester United

Manchester United look likely to be searching for a striker until at least the summer with the January transfer window heading towards its conclusion.

While club officials did claim the winter market is not optimal for business to be conducted, it was also difficult for United fans to fathom Erik ten Hag's side not adding to their forward line. Rasmus Hojlund is the first-choice centre-forward at Old Trafford with Anthony Martial positioned as his backup.

However, the Frenchman has struggled with poor form and injury problems in recent years meaning he is no longer a strong second-choice for the club. His expected release in the summer will leave United with just one recognised No.9 at the club so the hope was for Ten Hag to go some way to solving this issue in January.

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One of the players to be linked with a switch to Old Trafford is Karim Benzema. The former Real Madrid forward moved to Saudi Pro League's Al Ittihad in the summer but is thought to be unhappy with his life in the Middle East.

This revelation is nothing new as Jordan Henderson recently departed Al Ettifaq for Ajax and Aymeric Laporte recently spoke openly about not enjoying his time at Al Nassr. But one of the former Manchester City man's teammates Sadio Mane holds a different view.

Speaking at AFCON, Mane was asked about whether he was not enjoying his time in Saudi Arabia. He replied: "That's what you think because I'm not in Europe.

"This is sad for you guys. Because, for you guys, if you don't play in Europe, it doesn't matter, I'm not around as a football player.

"Fortunately, I can say the Saudi league is a very good league, and