Manchester United to boost squad with new signings after pre-season injury setbacks

Manchester United are expected to dip back into the transfer market after losing Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro to injury in pre-season .

Summer signing Yoro suffered a metatarsal injury in a friendly against Arsenal, just his second appearance in United colours following his big-money move from Lille. He could be out of action for as long as three months, while Hojlund is expected to miss six weeks with a hamstring problem.

United were back in action against Real Betis on Wednesday night, winning 3-2 against the La Liga side. However, further injury worries arose as Marcus Rashford and Antony were both forced off .

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And those injuries to Yoro and Hojlund may force United back into the transfer market immediately . While they have signed striker Joshua Zirkzee this summer from Bologna, the Telegraph report Brentford star Ivan Toney is among the attacking options United are considering.

The Brentford frontman is in the final year of his contract with the Bees, though it remains to be seen whether they will play hardball after losing fellow striker Igor Thiago, ear-marked as Toney's replacement, to injury themselves.

While United are confident in the ability of Zirkzee, who scored 12 goals in all competitions for Bologna last season, it remains the case that he is untested in the Premier League .

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And then thanks to Yoro's injury, and the departures of Raphael Varane and Willy Kambwala, United are looking thin defensively once again. Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof - who could still be sold this summer - all missed time last term through injury. United has been strongly linked with both Bayern Munich's Matthijs de Ligt and Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite.

De Ligt starred for Ten Hag's Ajax before moving to Juventus and then Bayern Munich. New Bayern boss Vincent Kompany is prepared to cash in on the Dutchman, with de Ligt not named in the Bundesliga sides pre-season South Korea tour due to having played for the Netherlands at Euro 2024.

Then there's Branthwaite, who played under newly-appointed United coach Ruud van Nistelrooy at PSV Eindhoven. Everton knocked back an opening bid of $43m plus add-ons before United moved for Yoro, but an improved offer could soon follow after an injury to the Frenchman.

Liverpool.com says: "Manchester United cannot afford to go into a new Premier League season without more defensive depth. While they had hoped Yoro would be able to bed in at the heart of their defence, he will now be out until October.

"Last term, United ended up fielding a centre-back partnership of Jonny Evans and Casemiro due to injuries. They cannot afford for this to be the case again this time around. While they will hope Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire can remain fit this term, it would be negligent for them to not look at bringing in another centre-half this summer."