Manchester United transfers: Every January 2022 deal & window rated

Manchester United enter February with a much slimmer squad than the one which began the year.

The Red Devils’ playing roster was too bloated even with the club fighting on three fronts, with the FA Cup and Champions League campaigns to resume in the coming weeks as well the club’s Premier League season.

But it was a window dominated by links of potential signings, and with reports of which first-team stars could leave the club - but, at the end, where does it leave Ralf Rangnick’s men as we head towards the business end of the season?

Were there any signings?

In short: no. The Red Devils failed to add any reinforcements despite the ceaseless list of names which have been linked with moves to Old Trafford over the past month.

United were reportedly on the lookout for a midfielder in January and several targets were suggested over the past few weeks.

Chief among them were Denis Zakaria, who joined Juventus, Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Haidara.

There has also been repeated mentions of potential summer signings, with the likes of Declan Rice, John McGinn and Aurelien Tchouameni all touted as possible recruits ahead of the 2022/23 season.

But for all the reports and rumours, nothing concrete ever materialised for the Red Devils. Given that Rangnick himself admitted in January that United were too easy to play through, it is a real area of concern for the club going into the final months of the season.

Who left?

Reports in January suggested several members of the squad were unhappy with their lack of game-time, and some - Dean Henderson, Eric Balliy and Jesse Lingard - have remained at the club.

But the winter window did see Anthony Martial seal a loan move to Sevilla, while Donny van de Beek reached a deadline-day agreement to join Everton.

Axel Tuanzebe began the month on loan at Aston Villa but made a switch to Napoli, also on loan, during the window.

Unlike his defensive colleague, Teden Mengi headed to the West Midlands when he joined Birmingham City on a short-term deal, while full-back Ethan Laird swapped Swansea City for Bournemouth, again on loan.

It really was a window of short-term deals for the Red Devils, with Amad heading to Rangers, while Reece Devine joined Walsall.

Anything else?

As we approached the final days of the window, D’Mani Mellor looked set to go out on loan after he was recalled from Salford City, but Crawley Town manager John Yems described the inability for a short-term deal to be arranged for the attacker as a ‘balls up’.

Another youngster, Will Fish, was also recalled from a loan at Stockport County.

Our view

The main objective heading into this window was trimming the squad, and United deserve some credit for achieving that and for arranging other clubs to cover the majority of those loan players’ wages.

Moving on Martial and Van de Beek was the main bit of business and there’s still the hope they could return as valuable assets in the summer.

But failing to add further depth in midfield is a concern, given how lightweight they’ve been in that department over the season. While there has been a slight upturn in form over January, it’s not enough to overlook the flaws which have haunted the squad throughout the majority of the campaign.

Admittedly, January recruits are rarely easy to wrap up, but there’s no doubting a midfield signing could have been agreed had they pushed to make a deal happen. Whether this decision was made by the club or Rangnick also still needs to be established.

But for the latter, his ability to overcome United’s midfield flaws will determine where they finish this season, and whether they have the capacity to hold onto a top-four place.

Full list of outgoings

Teden Mengi - Birmingham (six-month loan)

Ethan Laird - Bournemouth (six-month loan)

Axel Tuanzebe - Napoli (six-month loan)

Anthony Martial - Sevilla (sim-month loan)

Reece Devine - Walsall (six-month loan)

Amad - Rangers (six-month loan)

Donny van de Beek - Everton (six-month loan)

Matej Kovar - Burton Albion (six-month loan)

Dillon Hoogewerf - Borussia Monchengladbach (permanent move)