Do you know which club was in a position of great opportunity at the beginning of May? Actual Manchester United, that’s who.
They were turfing out the interim manager who hadn’t worked out. They announced the appointment of Erik ten Hag on 2 May, giving them a decent headstart. They had a new chief executive, with the bootless Ed Woodward leaving in April. They had a number of expensive contracts of fringe players ending. The tagline of the summer was set in stone: “Look, we can at least agree that it can’t get any worse”.
The wider picture of United’s ownership can never be ignored – at the last count, the net debt grew 11.8 per cent annually to a total of £495.7m. The symbol of the Glazers hangs over Old Trafford like a soupy smog, particularly when on-pitch results are poor. But football director John Murtough was at least optimistic: “We now have the right structures in place… to support long-term success and we will continue working relentlessly and investing to achieve that.”
It’s amazing just how little “working relentlessly” can achieve. Manchester United have mastered the art of looking busy, cyberloafing their way around the transfer market having meetings about meetings about meetings. In more than two months since appointing Ten Hag, they have signed a player in a position that they were already strong (Luke Shaw, Alex Telles, Brandon Williams) and are closing in on free agent Christian Eriksen. Because what this squad needs is a creative, attacking midfielder.
They have also spent at least six weeks haggling over the asking price for Frenkie de Jong, with any perceived progress scoffed at irregular intervals by Barcelona president Joan Laporta and it not being entirely clear whether De Jong wants the move in the first place. And that’s before the concerns over whether he is quite the Protector of the Defence that every United supporter has screamed that they have lacked for at least three years.
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Targeting players based on Ten Hag’s own history suggests that there are gaps or areas of impotence within the club’s recruitment. Other clubs – including those who United are aiming to catch – have a longer-term recruitment policy. Liverpool began scouting Luis Diaz at the U20 South American Under-20 Championship in 2017. It surpasses coincidence that United would have eyed so many Eredivisie signings before Ten Hag’s arrival, particularly given that Alexander Buttner, Memphis Depay and Donny van de Beek were all unsuccessful after moves from the same league.
But then perhaps this is enough for now: having a strategy is better than having no strategy at all. Manchester United’s transfer activity over the last decade has been a disaster movie played on repeat. Since the start of 2013-14, they have signed 31 players for transfer fees of £10m or more – how many unqualified successes? Bruno Fernandes, despite last season’s dip. Luke Shaw, perhaps, although they have signed two more lef-backs for a combined £29m since. Daley Blind, because they sold him for a slight profit? We are already reaching.
It’s not just the individual failures, but the scattergun lurching. The long list of signings falls into two rough categories: big-name, short-term hits (Sanchez, Mkhitaryan, Ibrahimovic, Lukaku, Matic, Mata et al) and younger players making their first move to an elite club (Maguire, Wan Bissaka, Fred, Martial and more). Crucially, United paid over the odds for every player in that second camp. Even if they had flourished at United, they would not have been sold at a profit.
More on Frenkie De Jong
That explains the haggling for De Jong; United are desperate to avoid overpaying just because Barcelona need the money. But there must also be a balance between savvy negotiation and undue delay. If De Jong really is the proposed secret to addressing United’s midfield issues, he was worth signing early to assimilate him with his new teammates. A saga helps nobody.
The squad is demonstrably weaker than last season, even if only in depth – no Matic, no Mata, no Pogba, no Cavani and no Lingard. United currently have 11 midfielders or attackers at the club aged over 21 and that 11 includes Andreas Pereira and Tahith Chong, who are likely to leave. It also includes Anthony Martial, who they don’t want, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who doesn’t want them.
Every passing season at Manchester United becomes more important than the last while they continue to linger outside the Premier League’s elite. Every year they fail to bridge the gap makes bridging the gap harder in the next. Ten Hag is a fine coach and might even be a good fit, but he cannot magic a coherent squad out of bits and pieces. While their peers have invested significantly and swiftly, United are living life in the slow lane. There is so much to do over the next eight weeks. So little about United’s recent history suggests that they will do it sensibly.
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