Man United football director John Murtough hints at quiet January transfer window after summer spending spree

Manchester United football director John Murtough has warned the club's fans to not expect the same level of spending in January as the summer transfer window.

United invested heavily in their squad this summer following the appointment of Erik ten Hag as manager.

The Red Devils spent more than £220m on new players, with Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Antony joining on permanent transfers and Martina Dubravka arriving on loan from Newcastle.

United have made a promising start to the season and are currently fifth in the Premier League, having beaten Tottenham 2-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

But there are still some parts of Ten Hag's squad that are a concern, most notably up front and in the right-back position.

However, Murtough has hinted January could be a quiet month for the Red Devils in the transfer market.

Speaking at United's September fans' forum, Murtough said: "We brought in five regular first-team starters on permanent transfers and a high-quality back-up goalkeeper on loan.

"We ended the summer slightly ahead of where we expected to be in terms of the number of players brought in, so we don’t anticipate the same level of activity in future windows, although we will continue to strengthen.

"The next step was reshaping the squad and we worked closely with Erik throughout the summer to agree on who to bring in, and who we would allow to leave.

"As always, there was a lot of media noise and speculation to contend with but ultimately by the end of the window we were happy with where we ended up.

United spent more than £220m on new players in January including £82m on Antony (Image: Alamy)

"The first step was getting the right staff around him, including Steve McClaren and Mitchell van der Gaag, who have made a notable impact since they arrived, but also many of the existing staff who have stayed on and really bought into Erik's methods."

Following their win over Tottenham, United have now picked up victories of three of the Premier League's 'Big Six' clubs this season, having also beaten Liverpool and Arsenal.

United chief executive officer Richard Arnold, who succeeded Ed Woodward in February, says he has been pleased by Ten Hag's start to life at Old Trafford.

"I'm not going to dwell on the end of last season for the men's first team, because we all know that the standards of performance on the pitch and our finishing position were not good enough," said Arnold.

United in the fifth in the Premier League under new manage Erik ten Hag (Image: Alamy)

"Our focus since then has been on putting the right support around Erik to get the team back to the levels we expect.

"John will talk you through these efforts in more detail shortly, but, in summary, while it's still early in the process, we're pleased with the calm, competent progress Erik has been making in building a squad with the right quality and character to make us competitive.

"And the same is true of the women's squad under Marc Skinner."

United face another tough test in the Premier League this weekend.

They travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with the Blues just one point and one place above the Red Devils in the league table.

Topics: Manchester United, Football, Premier League, Transfers

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

@rory_ocallaghan