Ruben Amorim makes bold Man Utd transfer demand | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim revealed that he hopes to sign one or two "big players" in what promises to be a "crucial" summer transfer window.

The Portuguese boss who replaced Erik ten Hag in November was only treated to a pair of new arrivals during the winter window, with wing-back Patrick Dorgu and 18-year-old Ayden Heaven not exactly fitting the billing of a "big" signing.

When speaking at his press conference ahead of Sunday's Manchester derby, Amorim told reporters: "I just want to focus on our strengths and bring one or two players, big players."

In a bid to clarify what he meant by "big players", Amorim explained: "It's characteristics that we don't have in our squad, trying to see the gaps, when I say big players I'm not saying from Real Madrid etc., it's big players in the way I see the game."

The arrival of these prized individuals would help Amorim fulfil his lofty ambitions of challenging for the Premier League title in the near future. However, this stance clashes with United's shift in transfer policy away from expensive marquee arrivals towards younger players who will command lower fees and salaries.

Ayden Heaven is an example of Man Utd's focus on young talent in the transfer window / Jean Catuffe/GettyImages

In a subsequent interview with Sky Sports, Amorim echoed this brief. "So when I say about recruitment, it's not just the big names and to spend a lot of money. It's sometimes the player who is 17 years old, that is in another top club and is finished his contract and we can use the Manchester United brand to bring that kid.

"It's sometimes that the recruitment means to pay attention to these kids that have a lot of talent, but don't have the space in different clubs to try to bring them here. And then the academy, we are improving that. You can see that we have some players with quality there so that is not recruitment, but is really important for us."

Regardless of their transfer activity, Amorim was at pains to stress how important this summer will be from a purely coaching point of view. Unlike their city rivals, United are not involved in the Club World Cup, offering them an extended period of time free from any international tournament to put together a comprehensive pre-season training regime.

"If you look at the next years, we are going to have a World Cup then a European Championship," Amorim wearily warned. "So this window is going to be massive to work on our base." It remains to be seen which new recruits - and the profile they boast - will be involved in that preparation.