Manchester United Transfer News: David Moyes Correct to Trust Current Squad

Whichever way David Moyes turns, he will be doing something wrong.

If he fails to sign a marquee player, there will be sections of supporters bemoaning his inability to attract the big names. If he spends big and strengthens his squad, he could be perceived as panic buying.

In choosing to address this Catch-22 situation early, he has done exactly the right thing.

Moyes' words on squad-strengthening struck the right balance between admission of weakness and confidence, as reported by The Telegraph:

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There is a need to do it but there's no pressure to do it. It's something we've been talking about since I took the job on July 1. I have an idea of where I'd like to strengthen but we won't do it because people tell us we should be signing players. If the right players are available, great, but if not the first thing we'll do is encourage our own young players in the squad to do as well as they did last year.

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Upon arriving at a new club, every manager will have an idea of how he can improve the squad. He may even have players in mind. Moyes is no different. He has already played out a familiar tactic and tried to poach players from his former club—in this case Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini—according to Andy Hunter of the Guardian. That has not been a success, while bids for Cesc Fabregas have also seen Moyes return empty-handed.

It is clear that he wishes to add players, but by including within this a vote of confidence in his current squad, Moyes sends out a clear message that he will not be bullied into a decision.

He has already come under fire for his handling of the Wayne Rooney transfer saga, and Jose Mourinho is sharpening his own knives in an attempt to force the move.

The lack of big-money signings is frustrating for supporters who have come to expect the best each season, but their new manager has a chance to turn this into long-term security for himself and his team.

If the transfer window closes on Moyes, players like Nick Powell and Adnan Januzaj could find themselves called upon within a squad rotation. Powell has been linked with a loan move to Wigan, per Alan Nixon of the Mirror, but he has a bright future at United and Moyes' backing of the United youngsters opens the door for the 19-year-old.

Januzaj, meanwhile, was just last week being hailed as the “next Cristiano Ronaldo” by Eric Harrison, per Adam Crafton of The Daily Mail. Why shouldn’t Moyes offer him a more prominent role at Old Trafford?

Jesse Lingard, too, has shined in preseason and staked his claim for more time on the pitch. Lingard was also singled out by Harrison in the same article as being “the top of the pile.”

Moyes has to retain the support and respect of his team, so publicly backing his young players goes a long way. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, United would buy for the future, investing in young players with potential who could grow into stars at Old Trafford.

In a lot of ways, the hard part of this has already been done. Moyes has an incredibly talented group at his disposal. They are just waiting for the opportunity to prove themselves. If he can work them into more first-team games with any sort of success, the clamouring for the likes of Fabregas will disappear, instead replaced by excitement at a bright young future under Moyes.

If this experiment fails? Well, there's always the January window.

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