23-year-old midfielder unwilling to join Manchester United in January transfer window: Reports

Recent reports claim that Manchester United target Amadou Haidara is reluctant to make a decision on his future until the summer. He has been linked with a move to Old Trafford since the arrival of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager in November.

United have been in the market for a defensive midfielder since the summer. Instead, they ended up signing Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane. Rangnick does not have a bonafide defensive midfielder in his squad at the moment.

The German has relied on Scott McTominay, who has grown into the role in recent games and may prove to be an able long-term candidate. However, Rangnick has pushed for a move for Haidara, who he worked with before when he was the director of football at Red Bull Salzburg.

Haidara signed for RB Leipzig in December 2018 and notably scored his first Champions League goal against Manchester United in December 2020. The midfielder wants to wait until the summer to make a decision about his future and is therefore unlikely to be signed.

Manchester United may have to wait until summer to solve midfield conundrum

A failure to sign Amadou Haidara in January might translate into fans having to wait a few more months before a defensive midfielder can be signed. The position has long been the most obvious problem for Manchester United managers since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

United currently have Nemanja Matic occupying the position but he is 33-year-old now. McTominay and Fred have been used as a double pivot in recent years as well.

The combination of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes requires a dependable defensive midfielder as both players are infamous for their defensive work. Fred, with his incredible workrate, has proved to be useful in recent weeks but the Brazilian gets physically dominated far too often.

McTominay theoretically has everything to become a top-class defensive midfielder. It is yet to be seen whether the Scotsman can deliver consistently in the position.

Some midfielders that Manchester United have been linked to include Declan Rice, Rubin Neves and Aurelien Tchouameni.

Neves seems to be the most obvious choice considering his Premier League experience with Wolves and possible transfer fee. Both Rice and Tchouameni are expected to command a huge transfer fee.