Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince has issued a transfer warning to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the club's board ahead of the January window.
The Red Devils have struggled so far this season as they sit in 12th ahead of the visit of Liverpool to Old Trafford on Sunday.
Shock defeats to Crystal Palace, West Ham and Newcastle have halted the good feeling felt after the opening round hammering of Chelsea.
The biggest issue for United has been finding the back of the net after scoring just nine goals in eight matches, a number which matches their points haul.
A lot of fingers have been pointed at the forward line and some solutions have been identified such as Mario Mandzukic, the out-of-favour Juventus striker who has been linked with the Red Devils.
However, Ince insists that such a move would not be right for United during the January transfer window.
"I don't think Mandzukic is the answer," Ince told Mirror Football . "I feel that you never get your best players in January, clubs don't sell their best players in January, so whoever Manchester United are going to get is going to be a stop-gap."
United saw Romelu Lukaku depart permanently in the summer as he joined Inter Milan, while Alexis Sanchez also signed for the Serie A side on loan.
The Red Devils chose not to sign a replacement but Ince feels that they should either acquire young forwards or wait until next summer.
"If they're looking to go down the young route then they should be looking at young strikers, not Zlatan (Ibrahimovic) or Mandzukic."
