Apparently the transfer of Toby Alderweireld to Manchester United was a non-starter. Ed Woodward and Daniel Levy only spoke once during the summer and that was at the instigation of the Spurs chief who was enquiring about United players.
Yerry Mina was considered too expensive when the extortionate agent’s fees were factored in and Jerome Boateng was never a serious consideration due to his proneness to injury and potentially spending as much time on the Old Trafford treatment table as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Owen Hargreaves, (also bought from Bayern Münich), before him.
Diego Godin was a possibility until it became obvious that he had no intention of leaving Atlético Madrid and, thanks to a bit of imaginative skullduggery by his agent, succeeded in negotiating a new contract.
So all the United supporters around the world could have been spared the suspense of deadline day if Ed Woodward had announced that morning that United weren’t going to sign anybody.
It would seem that the transfer policy according to José Mourinho is somewhat different to that of the United board. The Portuguese wants short term fixes which, as United would like to catch Manchester City as soon as possible, is understandable.
The board, however, don’t see the point in signing players no better than those already at the club and that is how they deem the ones on Mourinho’s wish-list. They are also not prepared to splash out £60-70 million on players who are nearly 30 years of age and will have a short United career with no resale value.
They are now of the opinion that Mourinho can spend £100 million, no problem, but it has to be an investment on somebody who will be around for a few years.
Raphael Varane, of Real Madrid, was a target on which Mourinho and the board could agree but, unfortunately, he and his current club have no desire to part ways yet.
Raphael Varane – A player who would have been a genuine upgrade on any centre-back currently at Old Trafford
The problem with this stand-off between manager and directors is that it could cost the manager his job because the board, as in most cases, speaks with a forked tongue. They want to catch Manchester City but they don’t want to give the manager the tools he feels he needs to do it. They want to give him the tools THEY think he needs to do it!
If that is the case then why did they employ him in the first place? Why do they even need a manager if they know best? Why not appoint a Director of Football because it is fairly obvious that the role doesn’t suit Woodward?
The way things are going at Old Trafford one of two things is, inevitably, going to happen. The board will sack Mourinho for failing to deliver, in which case Mourinho will then blame the board for failing to deliver. The second scenario is that Mourinho will walk away still saying that the board forced his decision by failing to deliver.
The situation can be resolved but it will take a public vote of confidence in the manager and an assurance that his job is safe even if he wins little or nothing, while he brings some of the young players through and buys for the future.
This, of course, isn’t going to happen because the board at Old Trafford is made up of people who don’t know the first thing about football and the man in charge of transfers is a souped-up marketing manager.
So, if Mourinho wishes to remain at Old Trafford for any real length of time, which at present is debatable, then he will have to find a way of buying young players who are going to make United better.
This means that the underworked scouts at Old Trafford are going to have to start earning their money.
As we have mentioned in previous articles, Harry Maguire could have been bought from Hull City, Virgil van Dijk could and should have been bought from Celtic. These were young players who wouldn’t have cost very much at the time if only the scouts had been watching them instead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. If we here at WSA could spot their potential earlier in their careers why couldn’t anybody at United?
And finally…..
Another one missed by the scouts of the top six. They’ll notice him soon enough though and, by then, he will cost a fortune!
Just for the record, and in an attempt to prove that we can spot the stars of tomorrow, keep an eye on Adama Traore at Wolves.
They have bought him for a club record £18 million from Middlesboro and our prediction is that in a couple of years, or less, he will be sold for a massive profit to one of the top six, maybe even United, because their scouts were on holiday again.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 