It’s that part of the season again. Not after the season or preseason, or the festive slogan until Boxing Day and beyond. Nor are the cool spring days when the title race heats up. No, it’s Manchester United’s season in the summer transfer window when the favorite soap opera of national football heads the silly season and the abundant players are linked, scored, lost, found, sold, signed and … unsigned .
The latter is already forming the narrative of some of the great 2022 of Richard Arnold Who Will United Land? show. This is the first window of the 52-year-old as the club’s CEO and to hear and read the hysteria of the experts and fans, he must acquire Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and the next Diego Maradona or his term will crash and it will burn before takeoff. .
There is, however, real pressure to have a successful window. Starting with Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, then a striker – possibly Anthony of Ajax – and perhaps a defender after Jurrien Timber turned down the opportunity to join Erik ten Hag to move from Amsterdam in Manchester, the 21-year-old’s decision was based on his desire to make sure he kept his place in the Netherlands with a World Cup in sight.
Throughout the city, Manchester City have taken on Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund and, a little further on, Liverpool have signed Darwin Núñez from Benfica (not to mention Fabio Carvalho from Fulham and Calvin Ramsay from Aberdeen). Ten Hag also wanted Núñez, and as Haaland is the emerging superstar center-forward in world football, United fans see Premier League pre-eminent forces and their two fiercest rivals as they strengthen as their club it stays blank.
Another rejection came from another Ten Hag goal to Christian Eriksen, with the Dane favoring staying at Brentford or returning to Tottenham. The only transfer action that has taken place for United so far this summer has been a lot of departures: Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani have left without charge.
It is still early in a transfer period that will not officially open until July 1, with the formation of the squad for the first time next month, when Ten Hag will talk to his players as a group for the first time. . So, understandably, Arnold and his football director, John Murtough, remain calm.
Frenkie de Jong is Manchester United’s main transfer target and they are confident of bringing the Dutch midfielder from Barcelona. Photo: Dan Himbrechts / AAP
His position is that, although De Jong is the main target of Ten Hag, there is no need to panic, because Barcelona is in a precarious financial position and therefore has to sell, and it seems that there is no competitors for the Dutch midfielder, and certainly not from the clubs. with financial resources by gazump United. So Arnold and Murtough will not be rushed in their search for the player and are preparing a second offer of about 70 million euros plus accessories for him, having seen an offer of 60 million euros more bonuses rejected by Barcelona.
The ideal result is that De Jong’s signing will be sealed before United fly to Thailand for their pre-season tour on July 8. Ten Hag wants the 25-year-old to be in his place for what would be his first game in charge, against Liverpool in Bangkok four days after United arrive in the Far East. If that can’t be achieved, the plan is to make sure De Jong is a United player before the opening game of the new Premier League season, against Brighton at Old Trafford on August 7, something that Arnold and Murtough believe it is possible.
The mood emanating from United is optimistic about the arrival of De Jong, the firm belief that it is a case of when not if. But if De Jong is not on the plane to Bangkok, the specter of the farcical summer of 2013 will inevitably rise. Australia to “Attend Urgent Transfer Businesses”.
When Woodward returned to Europe on Wednesday, July nine years ago, he and the club’s newly hired coach, David Moyes, had pointed to Cesc Fàbregas, then from Barcelona, as the signing to start the post-Sir Alex era. Ferguson, but the Spaniard never arrived. . In fact, the only player United signed that summer was Marouane Fellaini of Everton, and even that was completed after the deadline and was about to be missed.
This is the kind of final judgment scenario that Arnold, Murtough, and Ten Hag want to avoid. It is still very unlikely to be repeated in this case, given United’s strong hand in negotiations with a club that not only desperately needs the funds to sell the player, but also needs its salary of £ 290,000 a week. out of his books.
But that doesn’t mean it’s an agreement, and Arnold and Murtough must make sure they don’t make the same mistake Woodward made in 2013. At the time, United ended up paying £ 4 million more than they should have. by Fellaini, who had a purchase of £ 23.5 million. clause that United could have activated if it had acted earlier. Moyes was well aware of the clause, as it was Everton’s coach who had inserted it into the Belgian midfielder’s contract.
Arnold’s clandestine filmed meeting with disgruntled fans at a hotel near his Cheshire home over the weekend included a frank admission of the farrago that has been United’s recent history. Faced with a concise assessment: “We’ve burned cash,” United’s most powerful executive said he was in tune with what it takes to revive a club that is more fallen than a sleeping giant at the moment. But, as always, actions will tell. To you, Mr. Arnold.