Manchester United is looking to shore up the squad during the January transfer window, and sometimes the best way to do so is via addition by subtraction. Many clubs across Europe and South America had been linked to veteran striker Edinson Cavani, who has served in a backup role for the Red Devils this season. Well, new skipper Ralf Rangnick has weighed in on the transfer rumors surrounding the Uruguayan, and he's made clear he has no plans of offloading the 34-year-old, per Fabrizio Romano.

According to Romano, Rangnick has declared that Cavani will “definitely not leave in January.” Rangnick's comments were full of praise for Cavani, suggesting that the Uruguayan has an important part to play at Manchester United this season.

That doesn't exactly line up with the amount of playing time Cavani has seen this year. Cavani has made just three starts across seven Premier League appearances for Manchester United, scoring two goals across 348 minutes. He's managed to see the field more frequently of late, however, having logged two appearances and one start over Manchester United's past two matches, a span during which he's scored a goal and played 135 minutes.

If Rangnick does indeed have plans to make Cavani a bigger factor in the second half, then the 34-year-old should absolutely be kept in the mix. He's an established goal scorer who's proven he can compete in any of Europe's top flights. Across his 16 seasons in one of Europe's top five leagues, Cavani has featured in 446 games, starting 370, and scored 262 goals. Prior to moving to United in 2020, Cavani had spent four seasons with Palermo, three seasons at Napoli, and seven years with PSG.