Mauro Icardi to Manchester United? And where next for Ivan Toney? Supporters set out their hopes for the month

FFP is a factor here. If we can’t count on the fitness of Thomas Partey, perhaps the Saudis can tempt him. I’m hoping we’re not forced to flog the homegrown likes of Emile Smith Rowe, but frankly, with everyone chasing a proven goalscorer, selling Fábio Vieira etc won’t make much of a dent in the fee demanded for Ivan Toney or Dominic Solanke. Elsewhere, Douglas Luiz won’t be the only Villa player coveted by plenty of clubs, but I just can’t see how we stump up £100m for him. Based on his impressive pre-season form, I’d settle for Jurriën Timber’s early recovery from the ACL injury he suffered in the opening game; he’ll feel like a new signing and might well energise our squad in the finishing straight.

• Coach confident he can convince Jim Ratcliffe he is best choice
• ‘We have to step up. I have to lead the process’

Erik ten Hag said it is clear Manchester United are underperforming after falling to a ninth Premier League defeat of the season but he is confident he will convince Sir Jim Ratcliffe he is the best manager to lead the club in the long term. Defeat at Nottingham Forest means United have lost five of their past eight games in all competitions and 14 before the turn of the year for the first time since the 1930-31 season.

Ten Hag previously said he was looking forward to working with Ratcliffe, who has taken control of football operations after acquiring a 25% stake in the club. The United manager said he and Ratcliffe will set “high targets” when they meet. Sir Dave Brailsford, the Ineos director of sport who is poised to take a prominent role on United’s football board and report to Ratcliffe, was in the directors’ box at the City Ground alongside legendary former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Goals from Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White secured a deserved Forest win that spared keeper Matt Turner’s blushes

• Report: Forest sink Manchester United thanks to Gibbs-White

Erik Ten Hag on Antony selection: “ He will have a good feeling. It is a good opportunity for him to show that we have coached a lot and trained a lot about runs in behind, and we expect that from all but especially the front line.”

Conor Galaska gets in touch: “You asked: ‘Didn’t Tim Robinson used to open the batting for Notts?’ I can’t hear his name without thinking of the hilarious Netflix sketch show I Think You Should Leave.”

Seconds after Morgan Gibbs-White curled in Nottingham Forest’s fantastic winning goal with 82 minutes gone, he celebrated by soaking up the adulation from the Trent End and putting his index fingers to his ears. It is a tactic Erik ten Hag may need to employ to shutout the never-ending noise surrounding his position and this flaky and unpredictable Manchester United side. The volume will only increase after this, a damning 14th defeat of the season in all competitions. The last time they lost as many games before the turn of the year? That was 1930-31, when they were relegated to the Second Division.

Marcus Rashford cancelled out Nicolás Domínguez’s second-half strike, giving United hope of staging another late comeback, but Gibbs-White wrapped his right foot around the ball from the edge of the box, in effect throwing another log on United’s fire. In 10 days Nuno Espírito Santo, who replaced Steve Cooper with Forest lurking above the relegation zone, seems to have built a more fluent and spirited operation than Ten Hag has mustered in 20 months. Nothing embodied Forest’s togetherness more than Ryan Yates, the Forest captain, and the substitute Neco Williams teaming up to win the ball from Alejandro Garnacho close to the corner flag nearest the away end with a couple of minutes left.

Ineos owner has a breadth of experience of running successful sports teams but tensions could manifest with Glazer family

“Football is a very complicated sport, especially at the top, so I’m sure they [Ineos] will contribute,” Erik ten Hag said on Friday. “They will help us to achieve our high ambitions.”

In throwing bouquets at Sir Jim Ratcliffe following his 25% purchase of Manchester United that gains the Ineos owner control of football operations, the manager employed an apt phrase that shone a light on the crux of the deal.

• Manager says new 25% owners can inspire everyone at club
• ‘Ineos wants to work with me … I want to work with them’

Erik ten Hag has so far rejected the opportunity to talk with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos advisors because he wants to focus solely on Manchester United’s hectic schedule on the pitch but the manager believes the new owners “can inspire” everyone at the club.

Despite Ratcliffe’s 25% purchase becoming official on Christmas Eve, Ten Hag is yet to speak with Sir Dave Brailsford – the Ineos director of sport – or Jean-Claud Blanc, the Ineos CEO, both of whom are expected to take seats on the football board.

• Manchester United keeper recalled, Bayern forward left out
• Amrabat in Morocco squad, while Ivory Coast omit Zaha

The Cameroon coach, Rigobert Song, has included the Manchester United goalkeeper André Onana but dropped the Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting from his squad for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations finals.

Onana, 27, had walked out on Cameroon after a row with Song at last year’s World Cup in Qatar but returned after a reconciliation with the coach to help Cameroon qualify for the Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast, which get under way on 13 January. Choupo-Moting, who made his debut for the Indomitable Lions at the 2010 World Cup, paid a price for having missed Cameroon’s past three outings.