Manchester United are waiting for the visit of Tottenham this weekend before a two-week Premier League hiatus, allowing Erik ten Hag to regroup and introduce injured players back in the fold.
The Premier League introduced a two-week winter break four years ago and United will be hoping to go into that with good morale after a disastrous first half of the season.
The first six months have culminated in the club’s exit from two competitions and wildly adrift of the top four domestically.
Tottenham, United’s opponents this weekend, have enjoyed a promising first couple of months under new manager Ange Postecoglou and the Australian boss could introduce two new faces right from the start on Sunday.
The London club have signed centre-back Radu Dragusin and former Chelsea striker Timo Werner this January and both players were registered in time to be named in the travelling squad.
Postecoglou has already revealed that James Maddison will be missing the trip to Old Trafford after sustaining an injury earlier this season and Werner could start to cover for the Englishman.
Dragusin was widely coveted by a number of European clubs this winter, with Bayern Munich among those in the running to sign him right up until the eleventh hour of the deal being completed.
It remains to be seen whether the players are eased into life in the Premier League or if they are thrown into the deep end at Old Trafford right away.
