Manchester United are desperate to get their hands on a striker in the January transfer window.

Having splashed the cash on Sporting Lisbon's Bruno Fernandes to bolster their midfield, the impetus is on covering for Marcus Rashford's middle-term injury before the deadline arrives.

The Red Devils have heavily relied on Rashford for goals after the sale of Romelu Lukaku and there are real doubts about their attack over the coming months in his absence.

Anthony Martial is the next highest scorer in the squad with 12 goals, but there's the real threat that United could become one-dimensional if they lean on him as their number nine.

Jesse Lingard has scored just two goals all season, Daniel James hasn't found the net since August and it could be risky to overexpose Mason Greenwood at just 18 years old.

Man Utd's search for a striker

So, the club's search for a new striker is certainly justified and it makes sense that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would prefer a short-term option to tide them over until Rashford's return.

However, the reported targets have left a lot to be desired and little seems to have changed according to a new report from the Telegraph linking United to a familiar face.

That's because it's been revealed that Solskjaer has failed in an attempt to sign Bournemouth's Joshua King, who he helped coach during his time in the youth ranks at Old Trafford.

Man Utd fail to sign King

King is due to return from a hamstring injury after the inaugural Premier League winter break and Solskjaer saw 'his fellow Norwegian as the perfect addition to add a cutting edge to his attack.'

However, their attempts have failed courtesy of the Cherries playing hardball and Eddie Howe viewing him as an integral part of the club's fight against relegation.

An Old Trafford source explained: “we thought we could get done but was met with resistance from Bournemouth."

King had impressed with 16 and 12 goals in the 2016/17 and 2018/19 season respectively, but the link seems underwhelming considering his record of three strikes in 17 games here. 

The news comes after United had already been linked with underwhelming prospects such as Islam Slimani, Odion Ighalo, Arkadiusz Milik and Salomon Rondon.

GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says

Whether it's a short-term fix or not, United should only be signing players that truly improve their team and not a single one of these reported strikers would make any impact of note.

You get the feeling there's some sort of panic at United in the absence of the one player that has really pulled their finger out this season.

Look, at the point we're looking at players struggling to score in the Premier League, then you might as well back Greenwood to the hills and play him a la Rashford in the 2015-16 campaign.

The FA Cup aside, United have very little to play for now, so they might as well invest in the future - isn't that the whole point of Solskjaer being in charge? - as opposed to devolving back into quick fixes.

This is one of the biggest clubs in the world we're talking about here, if you're going to scrape the bottom of the barrel, at least look in your own and not one you cleared out seven years ago. Sorry, Joshua.