Ten Hag insists Man United will not “burn” the cash as the power of fighting love hints at the striker’s decline

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Erik ten Hag insists Manchester United will not spend their money to sign a new striker.

The Old Trafford chairman wants value for money for any January reinforcements.

Last month, Ten Hag confirmed his desire to sign a striker after Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit, but his praise for Anthony Martial indicates a step back from that position.

“You need someone who can make an impact otherwise you’re just burning money, not strengthening the team and that doesn’t help,” he said ahead of Bournemouth’s visit on Tuesday.

“We have a good squad when everyone is available. We have (number nine), Anthony Martial, I’m really happy with his performance in so many matches.

“He had a really good effect. If you saw his minutes and the effect he had, it was huge.”

But the United boss admitted he was reluctant to recall Imad Diallo from his loan at Sunderland to bolster his forward options.

The 20-year-old has six goals in 12 tournaments for the Black Cats.

“We consider everything. I have a bit of a reservation because I don’t want to stop the process, he’s making good progress there,” said Ten Hag.

“When we decide (he needs) to come back, he has to be a player who can compete in the starting eleven or at least play a lot of games to make an impact.”

Meanwhile, Ten Hag believes Luke Shaw could sparkle at United’s centre-back.

The England left-back helped the Red Devils to a 1-0 win at Wolves on New Year’s Eve and could start in midfield again against Bournemouth.

Lisandro Martinez has resumed training and may be available, but should World Cup winner Argentina fail to do so, Ten Hag isn’t worried about calling Shaw up again.

“You have a plan, and sometimes it changes depending on circumstances like illnesses. Casemiro was good at centre-back, like Shaw against Forest,” said Ten Hag.

“The way we handled Wolves, I thought it was the best match with Rafa (Varane) and Luke, you know the pace of Wolves on the right side and he can cover that.

“We wanted to attack on the left with an attacking game from Tyrell Malacia, and on possession with the left foot you can get better angles on the pitch.

“He was impressive but also good as a left back. He is an extra who is always good.”

Read more: Premier League winners and losers feature Manchester United for choosing Ten Hag over Conte

Ten Hag was dissatisfied with United’s first-half performance at Molineux before Marcus Rashford came off the bench to score the winner, which catapulted them into the top four of the Premier League.

Rashford was omitted from the starting line-up due to sleeping too much and being late for a team meeting.

Tin Hag felt there was a lack of focus on his part in the first half but believes they quickly rediscovered their drive.

“I saw a different approach in the second half, there was more investment, more focus, aggression. We had a better organization in the second half and created more chances.

Diogo Dalot is making progress from a hamstring strain while Scott McTominay (illness) should return to the squad.

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