Man Utd 'face tough January transfer window and must not sign stop-gap striker'

Manchester United should not attempt to sign a "stop-gap" striker such as Mario Mandzukic in January, according to Paul Ince.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been left short of options in attack after Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez joined Inter Milan in the summer transfer window.

The Norwegian only has two senior strikers in Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, while 17-year-old Mason Greenwood has also been called upon after the pair were injured recently.

Reports suggest United will re-open talks to sign Juventus forward Mandzukic, 33, in January in a bid to bolster their attacking options, having failed to agree a deal for the Croatian before the summer transfer deadline.

But former Red Devils midfielder Ince urged the club to stick to their recent policy of signing younger players instead.

"I don't think Mandzukic is the answer," Ince told The Mirror.

"I feel that you never get your best players in January. Clubs don't sell their best players in January, so whoever Manchester United are going to get is going to be a stop-gap.

"If they're looking to go down the young route then they should be looking at young strikers, not Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] or Mandzukic."

United have struggled to find the back of the net since their 4-0 win over Chelsea on the opening day of the season, scoring just nine goals in eight league games.

Solskjaer's side currently sit 12th in the Premier League table after their worst start to the season for over 30 years.