Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keen to replace the creativity offered by Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay.
Both players have suffered significant injuries and could be out of action during a lengthy period.
According to Manchester Evening News, that midfielder could be Atletico Madrid's Marcos Llorente.
Llorente joined Atletico from rivals Real Madrid only last summer for approximately £27 million.
Since joining, the 24-year-old has only played 310 minutes of football in La Liga so far this season.
Llorente finds himself behind the likes of Saul Niguez, Koke and Hector Herrera in the Atletico pecking order.
It's understood that United's head of global scouting Marcel Bout has made trips to Spain this season to identify potential targets.
"We are looking at a couple of signings," he said.
"Strengthening here and there, but the core group is there and the attitude is there and the physical robustness."
"Not many clubs want to sell players that they would otherwise want to keep in January," Solskjaer said in November.
"Maybe one or two could be a loan deal but that is not a big money thing, it is just to help the team."
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