Manchester United legend Gary Neville has criticised his former club's transfer hierarchy for signing Odion Ighalo in the final stages of the January transfer window.

The Red Devils were seeking a replacement for the injured Marcus Rashford and got a short-term loan deal over the line for Shanghai Shenhua's Ighalo with moments to spare on deadline day.

A move for Erling Braut Haaland is believed to have collapsed earlier in the window, while a number of other players - such as Danny Ings and Joshua King - were also linked.

Neville is puzzled as to why United did not already have targets lined up, though, given that Romelu Lukaku left for Inter Milan six months ago.

"They just needed a body in that area," he told Sky Sports News. "Rashford's going to be out for another couple of months. I can't let the club off the hook, though, unfortunately.

"Romelu Lukaku told us a couple of weeks ago that he had said he was going to leave last February or March. That's nine months to be able to manoeuvre and get into a position to sign a striker for the club for the long term.

"And yet they have ended up desperately doing one on Deadline Day. The boy may do very well. He might come in and settle in, he might score goals and do a job for the club.

"But the fact that the club were in that position, knowing that [Alexis] Sanchez and Lukaku were leaving for many, many months, tells us that Manchester United, at this moment in time, are struggling to navigate through the transfer market smartly."

Bruno Fernandes, United's other January capture, made his debut in Saturday's goalless Premier League draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers.