Manchester United 'fail' in late transfer hijack as PL rivals land midfielder on loan

Manchester United host Rangers as they look to return to winning ways. The Red Devils welcome the Scottish Premiership side to Old Trafford.

Ruben Amorim’s men head into the match on the back of their 3-1 loss at home to Brighton and Hove Albion last time out. They will be looking to put that disappointing result behind them win a win over the Gers in the Europa League.

United have the chance to bring in some new players before the end of the January transfer window. They also have the opportunity to let individuals head out the exit door as well.

Manchester United fail in late Julio Enciso move

According to to Tuttomercatoweb, United made a late hijack attempt for Brighton winger Julio Enciso. However, he has joined up with fellow Premier League side Ipswich Town instead.

Enciso, 21, has been given the green light to join the Tractor Boys on loan until the end of the season. Kieran McKenna’s side are in the bottom three along with Leicester City and Southampton and are fighting to avoid an immediate relegation back to the Championship.

After signing at Portman Road, he has said: “I am so happy to be here. The conversations with the Manager have been good. I am very grateful to him and the Club for believing in me. I can’t wait to get going. I’m a real fighter and I will do my best in every game.”

United could have seen the Paraguay international as someone to add more competition and depth to their ranks. They will now have to look elsewhere for reinforcements in his position between now and the deadline on Monday 3rd February.

Enciso moved to England in 2022 when Brighton lured him away from Libertad in South America. He has since made 57 appearances for the Seagulls in all competitions and has scored five goals.

What now for Manchester United?

United need to get some confidence back and their match against Rangers is an ideal opportunity to get some belief back. It has been a tough start to life in the North West for Amorim.

Speaking ahead of the game against the Gers, Amorim has said: “Of course. They (the fans) want us to win games, especially at home, in a different competition. We need to win it because it’s really important for the classification to try to avoid two games in the play-offs, to have more time to train. So everything is important in this moment so we want to win."

On Rangers in particular, he said: "I know all the squad, the characteristics of the players, I know the players that will miss the game. They are also important players, to try and understand the new ones. They are very aggressive — they are British! So we expect a very difficult game, a very physical game, but we want also to improve the way we play the ball. We want to be more calm with the ball. We try to improve on that in this last training — it was the only one. So I expect a better performance.”