Sometimes managers resort to desperate measures to make a point to the people who employ them.

When Ruben Amorim sensed there was a real danger that Marcus Rashford might still be a Manchester United player after the January transfer window closed, he declared that he would rather pick his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital than back down and recall the exiled England star.

Rashford was already halfway down the M6 to Aston Villa when Amorim revealed his team against Crystal Palace at 12.45pm on Sunday, leaving Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee on the bench and selecting midfielder Kobbie Mainoo as a centre forward.

When Amorim took the United job in November, he left behind one of the hottest strikers in European football at Sporting Lisbon in Viktor Gyokeres. The Swede has scored 34 goals this season.

At United, Amorim has inherited two forwards in Hojlund and Zirkzee who have scored 11 between them despite costing close to £110million.

Ruben Amorim has refused to panic buy for Manchester United during the January window

Amorim has inherited two forwards in Hojlund and Zirkzee who have scored 11 between them

There are hopes that Hojlund or Zirkzee could blossom into a striker like Viktor Gyokeres

Worse still, the chances of beefing up his strike-force in the winter window were slim from the start with United determined to be financially disciplined after signing left wing-back Patrick Dorgu from Lecce for £29m and young Arsenal defender Ayden Heaven for £1.5m. 

The club have cut their wage bill considerably by offloading Rashford and Antony on loan, but are still sailing close to the wind under profit and sustainability rules.

Having signed strikers Wout Weghorst and Odion Ighalo in previous January windows, United were reluctant to make any panic moves before last night’s deadline that might impact their plans or budget in the summer.

Despite speculation over a move for Bayern Munich striker Mathys Tel, it is understood that United were not prepared to take any expensive risks with high loan fees for unproven young players.

A 2-0 defeat by Palace and Amorim’s surprising team selection were not going to change those plans unless it was a deal in the pipeline for the summer that could have been brought forward by six months. 

Amorim abandoned his Mainoo experiment when he brought on Hojlund and Zirkzee in the 70th minute on Sunday, but United were already trailing to a Jean-Philippe Mateta goal and the striker then added a second.

Mateta is an example of what it takes to become a Premier League striker. After joining Palace in January four years ago, he scored just once. Over the next two seasons, only seven more league goals followed. 

But there has been steady improvement and after scoring 16 last season, the Frenchman’s brace at Old Trafford took him into double figures again.

Amorim experimented with Kobbie Mainoo playing as a striker against Crystal Palace

Having signed strikers Odion Ighalo in previous windows, United were reluctant to panic

It takes time for players to become established goalscorers at this level. But that is what United needed when they signed Hojlund for £72m from Atalanta in the summer of 2023 and Zirkzee from Bologna for £36.5m last July.

It is well known that manager Erik ten Hag wanted Harry Kane — and that the striker favoured a move to United. Football director John Murtough also pushed for the deal. 

But former chief executive Richard Arnold and the Glazer family felt the £100m fee and Kane’s wages were too much for a player of his age with little resale value, and there were also reservations over persuading Tottenham chief Daniel Levy to sell to a Premier League rival. 

A fee was agreed with Atalanta for Hojlund and Kane went to Bayern Munich instead where he has added to his 213 Premier League goals for Spurs by scoring 70 more in less than two seasons in Germany. 

Ten Hag was said to be understanding that the club had signed a young, developing striker and wanted a more experienced partner for Hojlund, but that never materialised.

The Dane scored an impressive 16 goals — including 10 in the Premier League — but he has found it tougher in his second season and is on a 13-game barren run.

When United went back into the transfer market for another forward last summer, they once again overlooked proven top-flight goalscorers such as Ivan Toney and Danny Welbeck in favour of Zirkzee. Like Hojlund, the Dutchman was an exciting prospect who arrived after a successful season with Bologna. Despite scoring the winner on his debut against Fulham, the 23-year-old has struggled and hit a low point when fans celebrated his early substitution against Newcastle in late December.

It’s well known that Erik ten Hag wanted Harry Kane — and that he favoured a move to United

The hope is that Hojlund or Zirkzee could blossom into a Gyokeres, who caught fire under Amorim at Sporting after struggling to make it at the highest level in English football with Brighton, Swansea and Coventry. 

But time isn’t a commodity afforded to many coaches, and Amorim may yet try to sign Gyokeres in the summer.

Failing that, it would be surprising if United don’t kick off next season with a more experienced striker leading the line. Lessons have been learned.

‘I know what the team needs,’ Amorim said on Sunday. ‘We speak about that all the time and we need to improve our performance in every aspect,especially scoring goals. We are trying to improve the team without making the mistakes of the past.’