The Red Devils have made just the one signing so far this summer and fans have started to become frustrated with the lack of activity since. Are Manchester United falling behind already?
Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United team was heavily invested in last summer with the signings of Ibrahimovic, Bailly, Pogba and Mkhitaryan but despite that, the spending is expected to continue this summer. There apparently isn’t any shortage of cash in the club and board appear to be willing to back the Portuguese manager after a successful season in charge.
Although transfer rumours will try to convince you that Mourinho is interested in signing every player under the sun in order to stop opponents from challenging his team, the likelihood is that he only has a number of targets he’d like to bring in. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if he invests in the same number of players as last season- 3 or 4 players suited for the system will do the damage.
Media outlets will also have you convinced that Manchester United have ‘missed out’ or ‘failed’ to secure several hundred signatures over the course of this transfer window despite it only being July and it is yet to shut until the the end of August/beginning of September. All in all, it just seems liked the Red Devils are all over the place.
The truth is, of course, far from that. The manner in which Mourinho organised transfers last season in spite of it being his first season in charge suggests that he typically gets things done quickly. History at other clubs would also point to that being true. However, surely fans can’t always expect that to be the case.
A lot of clubs play hardball, in particular nowadays with the huge sums of money floating around the transfer market. Transfer rumours are normally ridiculous but lately the sums are hand in hand with that. Either way, expectations can’t be that every transfer will be solved over the course of a couple of days.
Fans need to keep in mind that a lot of transfers take a lot of work and often begin even before the transfer windows themselves. It’s not the same as FIFA17 where you can purchase players instantly. What fans can be worried about is if the deadline has passed and Manchester United haven’t signed anyone else.
They can also be worried if it appears like Mourinho doesn’t have a clear idea of what players he wants to bring in or what players he wants to let go of. From what we can tell of his short stay at Old Trafford so far, Jose is very clear and direct about these things. He identifies like-minded players and is thorough on what he needs much like Louis Van Gaal.
A clear example of a manager who doesn’t seem to know who what players he wants is David Moyes. Under his leadership, Ed Woodward must’ve flown across the globe in search of signatures. The likes of Fabregas, Bale and Ronaldo were actually named by the man himself (a horrible mistake to make of course).
Even worse was the fact that Fellaini was the man signed that summer instead and it was only completed on the last day despite there being no interest in the Belgian previously. There it was clear to see that there was no plan but after Mourinho’s success in the market of 2016/17 it should be fair that fans give him time to see who he brings in and let’s go of.
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It’s far too early to panic. This is actually the time and month when a lot of deals are completed because negotiations reach their peak. Of the 4 players signed last year, 3 were completed in July with only Pogba coming in on August, possibly to build up hype. It’s only after the transfer window is shut that we can truly judge Mourinho on his purchases for his Manchester United team.