Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is ready to pass on signing a new defender in January.
The Mirror says Van Gaal will not buy any stop-gap defenders in January because he wants to give rookies Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair a chance to impress.
The Manchester United boss is keen to strengthen his backline, but will only splash out in the next transfer window in the unlikely event that top target Borussia Dortmund skipper Mats Hummels becomes available.
Van Gaal and United are reluctant to flitter money away on short-term buys on long contracts in January, only to replace them in the summer.
This rules out any moves when the transfer window opens for Aston Villa's Ron Vlaar or Porto's Bruno Martins Indi.
