Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Manchester United will be looking to sign players in at least two different positions in the summer transfer window.
Speculation persists that Ten Hag may not be the man at the helm past the end of this season, a consequence of United sitting down in sixth position in the Premier League standings.
Nevertheless, still with a chance to win the FA Cup, the Dutchman has reasons to demand a strong finish from his players to boost the chances of a longer stay at Old Trafford.
If reports are to be believed, resolving United's central-defensive issues could be a priority, that area plagued by injuries throughout the current campaign.
Furthermore, Raphael Varane is allegedly out of contract, as is Jonny Evans, while only Willy Kambwala and Lisandro Martinez are below the age of 27.
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Other positions to be targeted
Ten Hag has consistently been questioned regarding matters in other areas of the pitch, United having been left short because of injuries to first-team and backup players.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Friday, Ten Hag acknowledged that United could have benefitted from having another left-back and striker in their ranks to add quality and share the workload.
As quoted by BBC Sport, the Dutchman said: "You need more options. You need double positioning in every position."
"Some positions we didn't have the choices this season - the striker position, the left-back position - and that has a negative impact on the results."
Ten Hag spoke more on his side's issues in attack, adding: "In this plan we constructed we should have had enough goals.
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"You count on goals from [Marcus] Rashford - last season he scored 30. You count on goals from [Anthony] Martial - in my first season he played very well, and also in very important games he had a high impact on our performances.
"And then bringing a goalscorer like Rasmus Hojlund in, it should have been enough goals."
Marcus Rashford has managed just eight goals from 38 appearances in all competitions this season, while Anthony Martial has just two from 19 outings, later being ruled out in the long term through groin surgery.
There have been times when United have looked threatening in the final third, yet only 45 goals have been scored in 31 league games, the joint-11th best return.
At left-back, injury has restricted Luke Shaw to 15 starts, whereas Tyrell Malacia has not made a single appearance due to a knee injury.
Darren Plant
