LVG anxiously waits for window to open

The January transfer window is only 59 days away; and although Louis van Gaal must take some comfort from his team’s battling display with only 10 men at the Etihad, that is probably the only piece of good news for Manchester United fans as they contemplate a frustrating start to another difficult season.

It seems almost ironic to suggest a club that already has the most expensive squad in the Premier League — currently valued at €510m — needs to spend more to save their campaign, but that is the situation United find themselves in after a 1-0 defeat in the Manchester derby in which Chris Smalling was sent off and Marcos Rojo carried off.

United now have their lowest points total after 10 games since 1986, the year when Alex Ferguson was brought in to save the club; and they sit in ninth place in the Premier League with 13 points — a long way adrift of leaders Chelsea, who have 26.