Manchester United have added a flurry of new faces to their roster during this summer’s transfer window, though transfer insider Dean Jones has some reservations over the nature of their overall business, he told GIVEMESPORT in an interview.
The 13-time Premier League champions have spent just shy of £168m on six incomings across the window but have continued to struggle to offload those deemed surplus to requirements.
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On face value, Manchester United have spent well and strengthened in areas that were in need of a lick of paint, most notably at centre-forward and between the sticks. However, once you delve deeper and take a holistic look at their overall activity, it becomes much, much bleaker. Especially given Rasmus Hojlund, who signed for £72m, has yet to play in Manchester United colours thanks to a back injury. The Dane is just 20 years old and will have a massive part to play in his side's season, however, given their only other out-and-out centre-forward option, Anthony Martial, is forever unavailable.
Outcasts such as Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay are still filling up a space in the squad, despite the pair attracting formative interest from West Ham United, as BBC Sport reported earlier in the window that a bid in excess of £50m had been lodged for the duo.
Fulham had made a late approach for the Scotland international, as reported by MailOnline, but any potential deal became dead in the water once Joao Palhinha’s inevitable move was called off thanks to Germany’s 5pm transfer window cut-off time and so, he will continue to bloat the Red Devils’ ranks for a bit longer.
Sofyan Amrabat is, however, yet to be officially announced, though Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that a deal between the two parties has been agreed ahead of the 11pm deadline. The La Viola gem had been on Erik ten Hag’s extensive midfielder shopping list for a while and having played under the Dutchman at Utrecht, the Moroccan’s arrival could make things at Old Trafford look brighter off the back of Mason Mount’s injury.
Now, transfer insider Jones has given GIVEMESPORT his honest – but quite damning – verdict on how Manchester United’s transfer window has panned out as we edge closer to the window slamming shut.
Sales From Summer Deadline Day Transfers 2002-2021 (excluding undisclosed fees) | |
|---|---|
Club | Fees received |
Man United | £132m |
Everton | £67m |
Tottenham | £57m |
Arsenal | £47m |
Leicester | £37m |
Newcastle | £37m |
Liverpool | £35m |
Fulham | £31m |
Norwich | £21m |
Swansea | £21m |
All fees according to Sky Sports | |
What did Dean Jones say about Manchester United?
“I don’t think the business Manchester United have done has been satisfactory. There are players that should have been offloaded, there are deals there that could have been worth a decent amount of money, and the failure to capitalise on such opportunity has in turn left them struggling to make the signings they needed. It’s a relief they’ve got Sofyan Amrabat over the line and Andre Onana is going to prove to be one of the best keepers in this division. But Erik ten Hag will have hoped this summer led to a real elevation in the levels this side can hit, and I feel like too much is now going to hinge on a young Rasmus Hojlund providing goals that we just don’t know if he’s ready to deliver yet.”