Manchester United's David Moyes Must Resist Temptation to Panic Buy in January

The January transfer window is like a Ferrari dealership. Everyone would like to buy something, but it's getting it that's the problem

David Moyes knows he needs to improve his Manchester United squad. He will most likely have a long list of targets including some of the world's best players.

But he'll also know that January isn't the time for big business. It won't stop him looking, but the chances of securing the players he wants halfway through the season are slim.

He told the Manchester Evening News after the defeat to Swansea he wasn't hopeful of making signings in January.

"

I have said I will try to get players but it will probably be doubtful I will in January because of the window. I have said that quite consistently.

There is an urgency that we would like to bring players in but are those players available in January? There is no point in me hyping it up and saying we are because players that we would like to bring in are probably not available in January.

It is not because we don’t want to do it. It is because they are not available.

"

Moyes' problem is encapsulated in United's reported pursuit of Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke. 

Young and creative, he ticks all the boxes. But he's playing in a team sitting second in La Liga, level on points with Barcelona and through to the round of 16 in the Champions League.

Moyes, who watched Koke play for Atletico against Porto last month, faces a fight to lure him away from the Spanish capital in the summer. In January, with so much for the 21-year-old to look forward to at the Vicente Calderon, it will be almost impossible.

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United have got money to spend but not to throw away. And Moyes is under enough pressure as it is without wasting money on panic buys because his team are going through a poor run of results.

If United don't do any business this month, it's not because Moyes feels he's got everything he needs. It's because he would rather sign the players at the top of his wish list in the summer than the ones halfway down now.

Sitting seventh in the Premier League table and with injuries mounting, if ever there was a time to panic it's now. But Moyes must do his best to resist the temptation.