The January transfer window shuts at 11pm tonight, so what could Manchester United's starting XI look like after a 'dream' final day of business? It's an interesting question to ponder because there won't suddenly be a transfer war chest available to Ruben Amorim.

At the beginning of the window, Amorim said United "would try to do something" but it's understood the 40-year-old gradually became frustrated by the lack of activity.

Thankfully, Patrick Dorgu has arrived from Lecce and Ayden Heaven has joined from Arsenal, but they are 20 and 18 respectively and United clearly need more signings.

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United have struggled to score goals this season, and Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have just 11 goals between them in all competitions. In an ideal world, United would have signed another striker in the mid-season window because they are desperate for an experienced forward.

United have never been close signing a centre-forward in this window and that has been disappointing, albeit not hugely surprising given options are scarce in the January market.

Randal Kolo Muani was briefly under consideration but United's interest was fleeting and the 26-year-old joined Juventus on loan for the remainder of the season instead.

Kolo Muani scored an impressive 23 goals in 46 appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt in 2022/23, however, his goalscoring record during his time with Paris Saint-Germain was poor and he was quickly deemed surplus to requirements in Paris, so whether he would have cut it in the Premier League is questionable.

United need a proven centre-forward and Victor Osimhen would make sense at the end of the season - he is on loan with Galatasaray - but maybe Mathys Tel could be a stop-gap signing.

Bayern Munich are said to be willing to allow Tel to leave, although he's another young striker and his goal record wouldn't inspire huge confidence that he'll be able to succeed at United.

Having said that, signing Tel might be better than signing no striker on deadline day. It would be a roll of the dice to sign the Frenchman, but Anthony Martial made an impact in the Premier League when he arrived from Monaco as a teenager and perhaps Tel could do the same in a red shirt.

While United's strongest XI for the remainder of the campaign won't look too different after a quiet window, Luke Shaw has returned to training and will be hopeful of staying fit.

Shaw played against Ipswich Town, Bodo/Glimt and Everton under Amorim before picking up a fresh injury and he will compete with Dorgu for the starting left wing-back role.

Shaw has produced his strongest performances for United when his starting role has been threatened by a new arrival and perhaps Dorgu's presence will give him a spark.

It wasn't logical to include players who would command multi-million sums in the potential XI. There hasn't been a huge amount of cash for United to splash in the January transfer window, but the club will be more active in the summer window and Amorim will look forward to that.

United's best XI after dream deadline day: Onana; De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez; Amad Ugarte, Mainoo, Shaw; Fernandes, Tel, Garnacho.