Failure to bring in a striker on deadline day meant the January transfer window ended on a sour note for Manchester United.

The club entered the final day of the mid-season window with their supporters expecting them to strengthen their attacking options after Marcus Rashford followed Ethan Wheatley and Antony out of the door with a loan move to Aston Villa.

However, United failed to add to their attacking department ahead of Monday night's 11pm deadline, leaving head coach Ruben Amorim to make do with what he has available to him between now and the end of the season.

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United have struggled for goals throughout the campaign and the lack of a reliable goalscorer at the top end of the pitch could derail any hopes they have of salvaging something from this season in the FA Cup and the Europa League.

Fortunately, it was not all doom and gloom in the final stages of the window at Old Trafford, with United securing the signing of Lecce wing-back Patrick Dorgu on Sunday. United announced his arrival shortly before the 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.

United's main objective at the start of the window was to strengthen their wing-back options on the left flank amid their transition to a 3-4-2-1 formation under Amorim. The Portuguese chief has mainly had to rely on Diogo Dalot, who is a right-footed right-back, to operate as a left wing-back since arriving at the club in November.

Dorgu, 20, is considered as one of the most promising wing-backs in the business, and his addition to the squad has been hailed. He is first piece to have been added to the Amorim jigsaw.

His arrival at Old Trafford will hopefully spell an end to the disruption United have encountered at left-back/wing-back, as highlighted by Gary Neville.

Reacting to United's decision to sign Dorgu, Neville told Sky Sports: "It has been a nightmare position for them and you need to get it right. Full-backs end up with a lot of the ball nowadays in football.

"You need to have really high quality, particularly in Ruben Amorim's team with that left wing-back. He [Dorgu] is quick, he can beat a player, he's positive and Amorim needs to get his wing-backs right - that's critical for him."

Neville highlighted the importance of United strengthening at wing-back prior to the start of the January window, pinpointing just how crucial the wing-back roles are to Amorim's system, insisting the Portuguese chief needed 'unique' operators to fulfil those particular roles.

"I think if you were starting, you'd have to start with the fundamentals of this system, which is the wing-backs, they hold it together," Neville told Sky Sports in December.

"If you don't have the wing-backs functioning up and down that are able to attack and defend equally as good, and there aren't many of those around, by the way, because there aren't many teams that play wing-back, then you're going to struggle.

"So you need two quite unique players in those wide areas, and I think that will be the starting point."

Amad has established himself as a contender to be a long-term option at right wing-back, but it was on the left where United desperately needed fresh blood, so the club deserves credit for solving that problem at the first available opportunity.

The wing-backs, as Neville said, are central to Amorim's system. Time will tell if Dorgu's addition to the squad has a considerable impact in Amorim's quest to improve United's performance levels and results.