‘Complicated’… Journalist thinks Manchester United will struggle to sign £30m superstar this month

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It’s certainly no secret that Manchester United fans would like to see their club sign a player or two in January to improve the club’s fortunes.

Erik ten Hag’s side are struggling to demonstrate any kind of progressive project right now, even if they are producing the odd result.

Many considered that United would need to sign a goal-scorer in January, someone to help Rasmus Hojlund.

And whilst the Dane showed a ton of promise against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, he still will need support in the long run.

Anthony Martial simply isn’t helping United’s cause, a player they should be looking to move on this month.

An experienced head like Bayern Munich’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has been linked, however, fans may be getting more excited about a new name.

Given his complicated situation in Saudi Arabia, many believe that Karim Benzema might return to Europe this month, with the striker now linked to United.

And with that in mind, journalist Ben Jacobs was proving an update on the situation when speaking on talkSPORT this morning.

Manchester United are very unlikely to sign Karim Benzema in January

Although it might disappoint a few, Jacobs was quick to play down the idea that Benzema will join Man United or Chelsea this month.

Jacobs said: “Well I think we’re getting a lot of reports on the player’s sides, Jordan Henderson, Karim Benzema, Jota, Bobby Firmino.

“But the reality with Benzema in particular is that it’s the most complicated of the lot.

“And the reason for that is that it’s not just about the player, it’s also a consideration for PIF, the controllers of the club Al-Ittihad who are the current champions.

“But also the Ministry of Sport and the brand new sporting director Ramon Planes from Getafe, so there’s a lot of voices here.

“With Benzema, the understanding is due to a cyclone he got trapped in Mauritius and was late and as a result is not going to be a part of the training camp in Dubai.

“And it’s led naturally to this feeling, could he have got back, does he want to come back?

“And I think whenever you hear this sort of smoke, there’s fire and that means that much like with Henderson, maybe the player is looking at options.

“But the reality is that Al-Ittihad don’t want to lose Benzema, much like Al-Ettifaq don’t want to see Jordan Henderson go.

“The Manchester United links don’t have too much to them, I know we hear reports of Chelsea as well.”

It could be for the best

Whilst £30m Benzema would provide an immediate boost, United have sought short-term solutions far too often in the past few years.

In fact, Chris Sutton has now been given his thoughts on one player doing exactly that for the club right now.

Yes, Rasmus Hojlund does need better support up top, but United can’t sign another player who will disrupt their long-term planning in January.

If it comes down to it, many will feel that United are better off holding tight this month with a view to a more progressive summer.