Is Jadon Sancho really worth the 100 plus million fee?

[Valencia's Left Foot]

We have to be a bit concerned by Chelsea getting involved in the transfer for Sancho. Tuchel is a huge admirer of his and if chelsea get involved, it could easily drive up the price and take him out of what the Glazers would be willing to spend. We know the Russian has deep pockets and isn't afraid to spend money so hopefully we can get a deal done quickly before they express serious interest.

In that case, United could take Pulisic off their hands for RW and use the money saved towards a CDM and CB.

 

[charlenefan]

Hope we get this done early before the Euros and we can move on to Harry Kane. Actually maybe not, Varane or Kounde seem more like it after Jadon

should be the other way around tbh, Sancho should be the icing on the cake once we've sorted the CB and CM roles

 

[Judas]

should be the other way around tbh, Sancho should be the icing on the cake once we've sorted the CB and CM roles

All three are essential for me, we can't go into next season with any of those positions ignored.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

I want him sorted as soon as window opens, but who is gonna make the transfer happen ?
Woodward is off after the season and we dont know his successor yet, hmm

We have DoF now.

 

[Ali Dia]

There's no legitimate reason to not get this done very quickly if he's our RW prime target, he's begging to be signed. This has no need to be a saga. Please.

it’s us. That’s all you ever need to know. Maybe Murtough and fletcher have been working all this time though. Who knows

 

[bosnian_red]

All three are essential for me, we can't go into next season with any of those positions ignored.

If there's 1 I could say we could probably be fine with ignoring, it'd be CB. RW and DM are vital, one to complete our attacking balance and give us that added quality and depth in attack, the other could cover up for some CB weaknesses if good enough like how Stones looks half decent for City (but I don't think is actually any better than Lindelof).

 

[croadyman]

Not gonna lie I am more worried about the threat from the scousers now they look nailed on for Champions League

 

[bosnian_red]

For me Sancho is still #1 priority over Kane. In all likelihood Kane goes to City, in which case it's even more vital we go all out for Sancho to strengthen our attack.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

For me Sancho is still #1 priority over Kane. In all likelihood Kane goes to City, in which case it's even more vital we go all out for Sancho to strengthen our attack.

We should be getting this done swiftly as a first priority but knowing us we'll feck about chasing Kane etc and take our sweet time again this summer.

 

[Ludens the Red]

The one thing that bothers me with Sancho as a signing is the number of people I've seen say he's better on the left and that will end up being his position in the long run.

After so long needing a RW, it would be nice if the one we signed was 100% at his best at RW.

Those comments are absurd. Apart from probably this season. Sancho has played on the right for the majority of his time at Dortmund. His huge break through season in 2018/2019 was entirely on the right where he hit the assists record and him Reus and Alcacer so nearly pipped Bayern to the title.

My main concern would be our players allergy to attacking the six yard box apart from Cavani. Someone will need to finish off all the chances he creates.

 

[Zehner]

Those comments are absurd. Apart from probably this season. Sancho has played on the right for the majority of his time at Dortmund. His huge break through season in 2018/2019 was entirely on the right where he hit the assists record and him Reus and Alcacer so nearly pipped Bayern to the title.

That's not true. In his first season for Dortmund, Sancho actually started as a LW but mostly as a sub. Then in his second, he played primarily RW but also switched to the left. This turned around in his third season and this season he's primarily on the left, having better stats there, too. One can even say: The more he played on the left, the better his stats.

If you don't believe me, check his heat maps: https://www.sofascore.com/player/jadon-sancho/851100

And then there's also the common sense that inverted wingers play with their strong food towards the center. And Sancho is clearly an inverted winger.

 

[golden_blunder]

They will cost closer to £60 mill each.

No chance. Swap Rafa for Dan James

 

[golden_blunder]

Those comments are absurd. Apart from probably this season. Sancho has played on the right for the majority of his time at Dortmund. His huge break through season in 2018/2019 was entirely on the right where he hit the assists record and him Reus and Alcacer so nearly pipped Bayern to the title.

My main concern would be our players allergy to attacking the six yard box apart from Cavani. Someone will need to finish off all the chances he creates.

Yes and Ole knows this as a former striker. It’s why all the sudden support for Martial when we’re linked to Ings isn’t worth the time of day

 

[united_99]

It's not exactly controversial to rate Guardiola and Klopp highly. Despite Klopp's poor season this year. Fair enough if you don't want to include Tuchel in that bracket yet, but I think it's pretty clear he's also a manager who puts a lot of emphasis on the team as a collective, which in turn benefits the individual players.

I also don't think Chelsea will pursue Sancho, unless they plan to sell Ziyech and another player. But them reaching the Champions League final would definitely help their argument if they did try to sign him. And I wouldn't call Tuchel's system defensive just because that's what he's focussed on after joining mid season. His team is obviously intent on dominating possession, and defensively they keep quite a high line in a lot of matches. So far their attacking still leaves a little to be desired, but that doesn't mean his system is defensive necessarily.


I think there's a good chance Sancho wants to move to United, not least because they might be the only club really in for him. The question is, is United willing and capable of meeting Dortmund's price. I also think he, and Dortmund obviously, could live with staying in Germany another year if no deal goes through.

I fully agree with the rest of your comment. On here there's always so much focus on transfers to improve the team. New defensive midfielder, winger, centre back and United will challenge for the league. Adding player x to the team should add 15 goals to the team, which turns all these draws into wins etc.. And who knows, maybe that could be true, but in my opinion it's way too simple.

When a player joins and doesn't succeed, it's always just down to the player not being good enough. Or that player was a system player, as if that's necessarily a bad thing. Of course some players can perform well regardless of the system, but I don't think it's that helpful to expect them to because ideally you want your team to have a system in place that brings the best out of players. I'm not saying United don't have that now, but managers like Klopp or Guardiola generally do better in that area.

Wanted to reply to the system stuff vs filling holes yesterday but didn’t have time.
Look, Pep has a clear system, Ole doesn’t, Ole’s tactics are more flexible and the football we play is not as structured. Both have their advantages and downsides. But people get fixated into that so much that they ignore everything else / go to the extreme. So if Ole is trying to fix our ever long present right wing hole, it’s almost seen as a negative.
Then why did Pep need the expensive Dias for his defence despite previously already investing heavily in the very same position? If his system is so awesome, why can’t Stones and Laporte be enough and they then get some cheap back up signing or someone from their academy (where apparently since Pep came in they all play like the first team anyway). So why did they need another expensive CB signing?
It’s this contradicting perception which I don’t agree with.
If Pep buys expensive it’s because of his system. If United buy expensive it’s because they want to fix a hole with a star signing (and yes we have done this mistake in the past), but right now a quality right winger is what we have needed for a long time as we don’t have a single top level winger actually (we have great players playing there but they are all basically strikers).

 

[bosnian_red]

That's not true. In his first season for Dortmund, Sancho actually started as a LW but mostly as a sub. Then in his second, he played primarily RW but also switched to the left. This turned around in his third season and this season he's primarily on the left, having better stats there, too. One can even say: The more he played on the left, the better his stats.

If you don't believe me, check his heat maps: https://www.sofascore.com/player/jadon-sancho/851100

And then there's also the common sense that inverted wingers play with their strong food towards the center. And Sancho is clearly an inverted winger.

I mean the heat map just shows what we know, that he's equally capable on either side and plays on both sides. He definitely made his name as a right winger primarily to start with though, but I wouldn't say he's been better on the left? You can look at whoscored and see per game and per position how it's split up, he's played 13 games as an "AMR" in the league with 6 goals and 5 assists and a 7.98 rating, 6 on the left with 3 goals and 4 assists and a 7.48 rating. Small sample sizes as other positions also create more noise, but in previous seasons it was pretty much like that as well. He's more of a goalscorer on the left, more of a creator on the right I'd say, though I'm not sure if there's any stats that could show that (more logically and what I got from watching him).

Either way, helps us him being equally capable. Rashford and him can play together, or he can play with Greenwood, or Rashford can play with Greenwood. Having 3 players who can all play on the wings in whatever combination equally well is exactly what we need (and then add in Martial/Pogba if they ever get used on the wings if we get Sancho).

 

[Adnan]

That's not true. In his first season for Dortmund, Sancho actually started as a LW but mostly as a sub. Then in his second, he played primarily RW but also switched to the left. This turned around in his third season and this season he's primarily on the left, having better stats there, too. One can even say: The more he played on the left, the better his stats.

If you don't believe me, check his heat maps: https://www.sofascore.com/player/jadon-sancho/851100

And then there's also the common sense that inverted wingers play with their strong food towards the center. And Sancho is clearly an inverted winger.

I agree, he was deployed as a inverter wide forward. The dude below was providing the wing play and stretching teams due to his electric pace and dribbling.

 

[Ludens the Red]

That's not true. In his first season for Dortmund, Sancho actually started as a LW but mostly as a sub. Then in his second, he played primarily RW but also switched to the left. This turned around in his third season and this season he's primarily on the left, having better stats there, too. One can even say: The more he played on the left, the better his stats.

If you don't believe me, check his heat maps: https://www.sofascore.com/player/jadon-sancho/851100

And then there's also the common sense that inverted wingers play with their strong food towards the center. And Sancho is clearly an inverted winger.

Not sure what’s “not true” but here’s your heat map from the 18/19 season where I went more from experience having viewed Dortmund’s season review from that campaign.



And here’s this season where I havent watched him that much and actually didnt realise how much he has played on the right.



Weird one, seemingly you’re going against what I’m saying but giving me links to evidence showing the contrary. Ultimately it’s pretty obvious it doesn’t really matter what wing Sancho plays on. He’s effective on both. United are crying out for a creative winger on our right hand side. He is exceptional there and brings a different skillset in that position than he would bring on the left. Imo someone with his creative ability doesn’t need to be an inside forward. It’s more suited to pacey and direct players. Sancho is far more than that.

 

[Zehner]

I mean the heat map just shows what we know, that he's equally capable on either side and plays on both sides. He definitely made his name as a right winger primarily to start with though, but I wouldn't say he's been better on the left? You can look at whoscored and see per game and per position how it's split up, he's played 13 games as an "AMR" in the league with 6 goals and 5 assists and a 7.98 rating, 6 on the left with 3 goals and 4 assists and a 7.48 rating. Small sample sizes as other positions also create more noise, but in previous seasons it was pretty much like that as well. He's more of a goalscorer on the left, more of a creator on the right I'd say, though I'm not sure if there's any stats that could show that (more logically and what I got from watching him).

Either way, helps us him being equally capable. Rashford and him can play together, or he can play with Greenwood, or Rashford can play with Greenwood. Having 3 players who can all play on the wings in whatever combination equally well is exactly what we need (and then add in Martial/Pogba if they ever get used on the wings if we get Sancho).

Those stats are shit. Go by the heat maps, they paint a much better picture. Sometimes the formations published are totally messed up, especially when the player can play multiple positions. Trust me, he clearly preferred the left this season. He's good on the right, too, so one can't really say he's wasted playing there, but not at his best either. 9.5/10 on the left, 8.5/10 on the right.

Not sure what’s “not true” but here’s your heat map from the 18/19 season where I went more from experience having viewed Dortmund’s season review from that campaign.



And here’s this season where I havent watched him that much and actually didnt realise how much he has played on the right.



Weird one, seemingly you’re going against what I’m saying but giving me links to evidence showing the contrary. Ultimately it’s pretty obvious it doesn’t really matter what wing Sancho plays on. He’s effective on both. United are crying out for a creative winger on our right hand side. He is exceptional there and brings a different skillset in that position than he would bring on the left. Imo someone with his creative ability doesn’t need to be an inside forward. It’s more suited to pacey and direct players. Sancho is far more than that.

Mate, I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with that. You pick two heat maps and one of those proves that he's been more on the left this season. All the while ignoring all the other heat maps available. Below is the summary with goals + assists. He's not only found more on the left wing, he also has better stats when playing there. All backed up by the heat maps at sofascore.


Competitions in which he was found more on the left:

Bundesliga 20/21 (6 and 11 in 1870 minutes)
Bundesliga 19/20 (17 and 17 in 2290)
Bundesliga 17/18 (1 and 4 in 685)
CL 20/21 (2 and 3 in 386)
DFB Pokal 20/21 (4 and 4 in 428)
DFB Pokal 18/19 (0 and 1 in 69)


Competitions in which he preferred the right:

Bundesliga 18/19 (12 and 18 in 2460)
CL 19/20 (2 and 2 in 647)
International matches (3 and 5 in 843)


Undecided:

DFB Pokal 19/20 (0 and 0 in 256)
CL 18/19 (1 and 1 in 438)

 

[Ludens the Red]

Those stats are shit. Go by the heat maps, they paint a much better picture. Sometimes the formations published are totally messed up, especially when the player can play multiple positions. Trust me, he clearly preferred the left this season. He's good on the right, too, so one can't really say he's wasted playing there, but not at his best either. 9.5/10 on the left, 8.5/10 on the right.




Mate, I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with that. You pick two heat maps and one of those proves that he's been more on the left this season. All the while ignoring all the other heat maps available. Below is the summary with goals + assists. He's not only found more on the left wing, he also has better stats when playing there. All backed up by the heat maps at sofascore.


Competitions in which he was found more on the left:

Bundesliga 20/21 (6 and 11 in 1870 minutes)
Bundesliga 19/20 (17 and 17 in 2290)
Bundesliga 17/18 (1 and 4 in 685)
CL 20/21 (2 and 3 in 386)
DFB Pokal 20/21 (4 and 4 in 428)
DFB Pokal 18/19 (0 and 1 in 69)


Competitions in which he preferred the right:

Bundesliga 18/19 (12 and 18 in 2460)
CL 19/20 (2 and 2 in 647)
International matches (3 and 5 in 843)


Undecided:

DFB Pokal 19/20 (0 and 0 in 256)
CL 18/19 (1 and 1 in 438)

I think this is probably what happens when you try and nitpick a post....
My op said hes played right for the majority of the time he’s been at Dortmund (mostly 18/19). I also acknowledged that this season he’s played on the left more. The two heat maps basically told the same story.

Also here’s two links providing different results on Sancho playing more on the right than left.

https://www.whoscored.com/Players/346300/Show/Jadon-Sancho

https://www.footballcritic.com/jadon-sancho/player-positions/139847

Ultimately these sites are not fail proof, it’s best to ultimately use your own eyes and your own judgment.

Regardless, it’s clear the point centred around his suitability on the right which has been questioned on here quite a bit. Let’s not get sidetracked by the pedantic.

 

[Zehner]

I think this is probably what happens when you try and nitpick a post....
My op said hes played right for the majority of the time he’s been at Dortmund (mostly 18/19). I also acknowledged that this season he’s played on the left more. The two heat maps basically told the same story.

Also here’s two links providing different results on Sancho playing more on the right than left.

https://www.whoscored.com/Players/346300/Show/Jadon-Sancho

https://www.footballcritic.com/jadon-sancho/player-positions/139847

Ultimately these sites are not fail proof, it’s best to ultimately use your own eyes and your own judgment.

Regardless, it’s clear the point centred around his suitability on the right which has been questioned on here quite a bit. Let’s not get sidetracked by the pedantic.

Well, I'm not saying that he's better at LW because I studied Sofascore, I say so because I watched Sancho a lot and only use Sofascore to back it up. He's good on the right, too, but IMO not a 100m € player there. At least not in the current market.

Also, you really shouldn't trust those formations. Heatmaps are a much better indicator to tell where a player played. Havertz for instance was listed so many times as a RW for us but he never played that role even once at Leverkusen. In the end, the formations are estimations by journalists and they aren't correct if they've been wrong.

 

[Ludens the Red]

Well, I'm not saying that he's better at LW because I studied Sofascore, I say so because I watched Sancho a lot and only use Sofascore to back it up. He's good on the right, too, but IMO not a 100m € player there. At least not in the current market.

Also, you really shouldn't trust those formations. Heatmaps are a much better indicator to tell where a player played. Havertz for instance was listed so many times as a RW for us but he never played that role even once at Leverkusen. In the end, the formations are estimations by journalists and they aren't correct if they've been wrong.

I think for us and what he’d bring to the right wing, he’s definitely worth the 90£ mill. The most I’ve seen him was the 18/19 season and I’ve not seen a right footer perform like that on the rw in terms of creativity since Beckham/Figo days.

We don’t need an inside forward. We need a right winger who can cross, link up with his full back, stay wide, dribble and pass the ball. Sancho does all those things impressively as a right winger.

 

[SAFMUTD]

For all the discussion about him being better on the left or right I couldn't care less, all I care about is that he can perform on the right. It's actually a plus that he's great on the left as well or even better than the right. That doesn't change my mind at all that he's the player we should be in for.

 

[croadyman]

For all the discussion about him being better on the left or right I couldn't care less, all I care about is that he can perform on the right. It's actually a plus that he's great on the left as well or even better than the right. That doesn't change my mind at all that he's the player we should be in for.

Yeah his ability to play on both sides would be very valuable indeed

 

[Banana Republic]

There's no legitimate reason to not get this done very quickly......
......This has no need to be a saga. Please.

If we are not talking to BvB and Sancho's agent already, then we are likely to miss out.
I have a feeling Klopp and Tuchel will be ready to close the deals on their main targets soon after the window opens, just like City usually do, especially so with the Euros happening this summer.

We can't afford to wait until a couple of weeks after the window opens, or leave it until the Euros has finished.
Sancho could be gone by then.

 

[Diabovermelho]

We have to do this quickly. I'm affraid we lack a clear plan. We wanted Sancho, but now that Kane is available we don't know what to do. And if Juve miss ucl, Ronaldo'll want to come back and we won't know what to do also.

We should stick to the plan and bring Sancho this year, and try Haaland next summer.

 

[Dve]

I think for us and what he’d bring to the right wing, he’s definitely worth the 90£ mill. The most I’ve seen him was the 18/19 season and I’ve not seen a right footer perform like that on the rw in terms of creativity since Beckham/Figo days.

We don’t need an inside forward. We need a right winger who can cross, link up with his full back, stay wide, dribble and pass the ball. Sancho does all those things impressively as a right winger.

I´m not sure any of this assists has been crossers this season. He looks to get more assists from more central or around the box, often cutting in from left. He could well be used on the left as an alternative to Rashford and also serve as back-up no. 10. Means we can sell van de Beek.

 

[RkkMan]

 

[Ludens the Red]

I´m not sure any of this assists has been crossers this season. He looks to get more assists from more central or around the box, often cutting in from left. He could well be used on the left as an alternative to Rashford and also serve as back-up no. 10. Means we can sell van de Beek.

My point was mainly that we need a winger who can do it all. Hence the link up, dribble, pass etc.

 

[Banana Republic]

I´m not sure any of this assists has been crossers this season. He looks to get more assists from more central or around the box, often cutting in from left. He could well be used on the left as an alternative to Rashford and also serve as back-up no. 10. Means we can sell van de Beek.

That’s correct.
Most of Sanchos best work and end result (goals, assists and involvement in goal build-ups) has been from the left or centrally, playing right down the middle. He usually doesn’t do crosses.
Having played on the left and right for BvB, he’s mostly now on the left and has produced his most impressive performances from there.

I think it’s a mistake to just say we need him for the RW, although he could do a job there.
He’d be a perfect fit as first choice for Utd’s LW, if we could fill the RW position with the right player.
Maybe in the long run, Diallo or Pellistri might be the answer, but it’ll be a couple of seasons before they’re properly ready, if they develop well.

It’s all academic if Utd don’t move quickly on this, because there are other suitors who will move very quickly if they’re seriously interested in Sancho. Most likely doing the deal as soon as the transfer window officially opens.

 

[WPMUFC]

Seems like a signing everyone wants get done, yet will likely role on for way too long because of fee structures. I think we'll get him, especially as the glazers will be looking to dangle a shiny new toy out in front of the fans.

 

[Bondi77]

I think the thread title should be changed to 70mil instead of 100 because there is no way we will be paying that much for him.

 

[rotherham_red]

All three are essential for me, we can't go into next season with any of those positions ignored.

It'll be two of the three. I don't think the CB is essential if the the DM position is sorted as that DM would be protecting the defence as opposed to what McTominay and Fred do, which is neither here nor there in terms of defensive positioning.

For some reason, CB has seemingly been decided upon as the main focus outside of Sancho, so it will probably be Sancho + a CB that's brought in this summer (as well as Heaton on a free, and Trippier). I don't necessarily hate it, as I think both purchases would improve us markedly from where we are, but I do feel that we won't really kick on as a team until and unless that DM position is upgraded.

 

[romufc]

I have a feeling that this will be another summer where we miss out on him. If another club is interested, they will get him.

If Chelsea decide they want to sign him, they will move quick and get the deal done.

United will just show interest, prepare a bid, try a crappy bid and give up. Dortmund have already set a deadline, again we will ignore it and miss out on him.

I can actually see yet another frustrating summer upon us.

 

[Judas]

Who are Chelsea binning off to need Sancho?

 

[RkkMan]

I have a feeling that this will be another summer where we miss out on him. If another club is interested, they will get him.

If Chelsea decide they want to sign him, they will move quick and get the deal done.

United will just show interest, prepare a bid, try a crappy bid and give up. Dortmund have already set a deadline, again we will ignore it and miss out on him.

I can actually see yet another frustrating summer upon us.

How is a fee of £80m up front with add ons on top a "crappy bid" during a pandemic?? These comments genuinely amuse me. NOBODY and I mean NOBODY was ever paying £108m UP FRONT the mistake Utd made was not walking away earlier but going against the Sancho signing for the figures involved was the right decision now that he'll be available for a more realistic fee. Also feel like it's cynical how everybody here mentions Chelsea as if they're not about to spend at least £70m on a No9(likely Lukaku), a CB and a CM and you still think they'll add Sancho when they have tonnes of wide players. Unless Liverpool sell one of their wingers it's Utd's deal to do or feck up but after the groundwork we've put in since 2019 this looks like another Maguire/Bruno/Herrera

 

[WPMUFC]

well if he's our main target, Ole's just made sure the board are kept in the spotlight. Strong statement for signings.

 

[romufc]

How is a fee of £80m up front with add ons on top a "crappy bid" during a pandemic?? These comments genuinely amuse me. NOBODY and I mean NOBODY was ever paying £108m UP FRONT the mistake Utd made was not walking away earlier but going against the Sancho signing for the figures involved was the right decision now that he'll be available for a more realistic fee. Also feel like it's cynical how everybody here mentions Chelsea as if they're not about to spend at least £70m on a No9(likely Lukaku), a CB and a CM and you still think they'll add Sancho when they have tonnes of wide players. Unless Liverpool sell one of their wingers it's Utd's deal to do or feck up but after the groundwork we've put in since 2019 this looks like another Maguire/Bruno/Herrera

I mean they put a bid in it got rejected but never gave up on the transfer or went back in again... that is pretty crap IMO, which led to us scrambling for a winger on deadline day. So yeah, if you cannot afford something you dont wait around all summer in the hope that something will happen. You walk away and move on.

Liverpool did that with Jamal Lewis, got told a fee, didnt like it moved onto another target
City did that with Koulibaly, got told a fee, was too much and moved to Dias.

Chelsea are about to sign Lukaku? okay.. sure

 

[bosskeano]

Ive watched a lot of Dortmund matches in the past couple seasons and it wasn't until this year with the change in managers where Sancho started featuring a bit more regularly on the left hand side.

His entire first two seasons he played almost exclusively on the right in their 4231 or an inside right forward when they played 3421. He also plays on the right for the English national team.

Just the simple fact that he's used to playing on the right and understands the role is way ahead of anyone we have right now and he produces goals and assists.

We'd be absolutely foolish not to bring in a 21 yr old English right winger in our biggest position of need right now.

 

[Idxomer]

Ive watched a lot of Dortmund matches in the past couple seasons and it wasn't until this year with the change in managers where Sancho started featuring a bit more regularly on the left hand side.

His entire first two seasons he played almost exclusively on the right in their 4231 or an inside right forward when they played 3421. He also plays on the right for the English national team.

Just the simple fact that he's used to playing on the right and understands the role is way ahead of anyone we have right now and he produces goals and assists.

We'd be absolutely foolish not to bring in a 21 yr old English right winger in our biggest position of need right now.

I think having one of the most dominant attacking wingbacks in Europe behind him helped immensely when he played on the right.

The season Hakimi left, he has looked way more effective on the left.

 

[Boavista]

Wanted to reply to the system stuff vs filling holes yesterday but didn’t have time.
Look, Pep has a clear system, Ole doesn’t, Ole’s tactics are more flexible and the football we play is not as structured. Both have their advantages and downsides. But people get fixated into that so much that they ignore everything else / go to the extreme. So if Ole is trying to fix our ever long present right wing hole, it’s almost seen as a negative.
Then why did Pep need the expensive Dias for his defence despite previously already investing heavily in the very same position? If his system is so awesome, why can’t Stones and Laporte be enough and they then get some cheap back up signing or someone from their academy (where apparently since Pep came in they all play like the first team anyway). So why did they need another expensive CB signing?
It’s this contradicting perception which I don’t agree with.
If Pep buys expensive it’s because of his system. If United buy expensive it’s because they want to fix a hole with a star signing (and yes we have done this mistake in the past), but right now a quality right winger is what we have needed for a long time as we don’t have a single top level winger actually (we have great players playing there but they are all basically strikers).

Of course United can and should sign new players to improve the team. I was just giving my opinion that I don't think just signing new players is going to achieve it all.

And I don't see the contradiction to be honest. You say "Pep needed the expensive Dias for his defence", but I don't think need is the right word. That City side has broken Premier League point records without Dias. They spend money there because they can, doesn't mean it's always absolutely necessary. Also it doesn't mean every transfer will be a success.

Anyway I wasn't arguing system vs filling holes, I mean those aren't opposites? You can have a system and fill holes, and you can have less of a system and still fill holes. If a squad lacks quality in some positions, then obviously those should be addressed. But ultimately I think coaching will always be the deciding factor.