I’m sure this question has been asked, but if our strategy is based upon waiting for the fee to drop to an acceptable level, and the other sides don’t want to buy him because the fee is at an acceptable level, isn’t there the slightest chance that they might say “He’s available for €35m? Great. Where do we sign? ” and not “Damn. Outwitted by Ed Woodward again. If only there was something we could have done...”
I mean, a more cynical man might think that they’re punting around a player to anyone who’ll listen because they know his value will likely never be as high as this summer.