The Frenchman has encouraged his old club to be active in January (Pictures: Getty)

Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra has encouraged his old club to be active in the January transfer window and suspects a number of ‘unhappy’ players could push for exits.

The Red Devils have already been dealt a blow before the window has even opened after Liverpool swooped for Cody Gakpo, agreeing a fee that could reach £44million with PSV for the young forward.

United had been keen on signing the Netherlands international to provide more cover and competition in attack, with Erik ten Hag light on options up front after terminating Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract.

But Evra feels a new striker is not the only area of the squad that needs addressing and says United should target players with the same level of experience as summer signing Casemiro.

‘You always expect to strengthen, but I don’t want to go into the transfer window panicking and buying players because the fans and media are pushing for it,’ Evra told Betfair.

‘We need to add something to the squad so we can perform much better.

‘We’re probably going to need a striker, I definitely think we need a defender.

United were beaten to the signing of Gakpo by Liverpool (Picture: Getty)

‘Diogo Dalot is doing a job, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has just disappeared, so I don’t know if we need another right-back. We have competition between Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.

‘I definitely think we need a centre-back, a striker and a midfielder. That kind of Casemiro player, we still need experience.

‘I’m sure Ten Hag is working with the club and they will try to get something sorted.’

In addition to bringing in new signings, United are also likely to offload several fringe players who have struggled for consistent game time under Ten Hag.

Wan-Bissaka has played just four minutes of Premier League football this season and has been linked with a return to Crystal Palace, while Anthony Elanga could be loaned out to get more game time. Similarly, Donny van de Beek has only started once in the league.

Reflecting on that situation, Evra added: ‘This transfer window for United also depends on which players are going to leave.

‘I think there are players that are not happy about not playing and they will try to leave.’

MORE : Why Manchester United missed out on Cody Gakpo as Liverpool hijack transfer

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The Frenchman has encouraged his old club to be active in the January window.