Transfer Window Signs Point to David Moyes Sticking with Current Man Utd Squad

That David Moyes is attending games all over Europe is good news if you're one of the many Manchester United fans who want him to dust off the chequebook and spend some money.

But that he's doing it in mid-January suggests he won't be ready to splash the cash until the summer.

Sitting seventh in the Premier League table, United will need an exceptional second half of the season to force themselves into the top four and next season's Champions League.

They're not just battling against Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham but also their own inconsistency.

It's easy to conclude that the best way for Moyes to turn United's season around is to spend. And it's nice for United fans to believe that his trip to watch Juventus against Cagliari on Sunday was to tie up a January deal for Paul Pogba.

Or that his visit to France to watch Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux on Tuesday night was to thrash out terms for Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Thiago Silva. He was at Napoli versus Atalanta on Wednesday—you can add you're own transfer targets here.

But it's wishful thinking.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

If Moyes is planning on signing targets from Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain or Napoli this month, then he's left it late to have a look.

With a little more than two weeks until the end of the winter window, the signs suggest Moyes is willing to wait until the summer to do the bulk of his business.

The picture will be clearer in the summer—the futures of key players like Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic and Robin van Persie clearer.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

It's a prudent approach—it's notoriously difficult to sign high-end players in January—and one that hints Moyes is confident he'll get time to build a new squad.

It also means it will be left to the current crop to dig United out of trouble. 

Moyes can at least console himself with the fact he has players to come back to.

A United side that can include Rooney, Van Persie, Phil Jones and Marouane Fellaini is in a better position to win games than one without.

Moyes' tour of Europe is convenient for the soap opera of the January transfer window. It suits the circus that surrounds it.

But it's not necessarily a precursor to a midseason spending spree. That's still more likely to happen next summer.