Was thinking about this earlier and how United have at points missed out on I think very gettable targets who could really have helped transformed the current shape of the squad. All of these are from this season as I didn't want to go too far back.
I'm keen to see what suggestions others might have as to who they think United should have signed recently and have missed the boat on?
Now I don't know exactly how gettable all these were as we don't know the ins-and-outs of the deals, but on the face of it I think they all would have had difficulty turning down a move to Old Trafford at the time if it had presented itself.
There is also the elephant in the room that this would have resulted in extra spending and the question of whether the Glazers would have green-lighted any of this, but we also have to consider that A) extra players could have been moved on to part-fund (for example with some of my picks, both Henderson and Dalot could probably have been shifted) and B) this would result in a reduced need to blow vast amounts of money in this summers window (again using my picks as an example, I think you could probably get away with going after Akanji and Nunez and be in pretty good shape for the 2022/23 season).
Anyway, here are my picks and apologies if this thread gets anybody down thinking about what could have been.
Was more just interested to see who people would have liked United to have signed, not intending to make anybody more depressed than they probably already are!
Was super impressive at Lille and looked to have it all. Not only a very good shot stopper, but modern keeper who can sweep off his line and is comfortable with the ball at his feet. Thought Milan got a bargain replacing Donnarumma with him and lo and behold he's arguably the best keeper in Serie A after one season.
Arguably a top 8 keeper in the world who would fit every system, and if United were a bit bolder in their evaluation of their current keepers and came to the probably logical conclusion a bit earlier that neither De Gea or Henderson are what they're looking for, they might have been able to solve this position for the next 6 or 7 years for next to nothing.
He was obviously heavily linked at a point when it seemed Atletico wanted 3 times the price for him. When it became evident he was available in January for a cut-price amount, I'm not sure why United weren't in for him. Or maybe they were and he wanted to be a building block at Newcastle, but I have to believe a starting spot at Old Trafford was on the cards he would have gone for that instead.
Obviously not a long-term deal, but a superb and affordable fix for the RB spot (along with added set-piece value) for the next 2-3 seasons. Even if you think you can continue to develop either Wan-Bissaka or Dalot as the long-term starter (which I don't and I think most United fans would agree) he's not necessarily going to block their path for too long.
I've combined these together as this felt like a package deal. I wasn't too sure about either of these when they arrived, but for the initial outlay I think this was more than worth a stab particularly when you consider they both fill positions of need. Neither may be a long-term fix (especially Bentancur) but for less than £25m initially you are upgrading 2 positions of dire need half way through a faltering season.
Early days yet but I think this guy will be a star. The technical ability always stood out from when he joined Lyon but he also showed a tenacity that has seen him adapt very quickly to the PL and become an instant cult hero on Tyneside. Added goals to his game too and his passion and desire would probably have helped kickstart United in the 2nd half of the season.
*Fees are just from figures I found quickly reported on the internet from fairly reputable sources like Sky Sports.
I'm keen to see what suggestions others might have as to who they think United should have signed recently and have missed the boat on?
Now I don't know exactly how gettable all these were as we don't know the ins-and-outs of the deals, but on the face of it I think they all would have had difficulty turning down a move to Old Trafford at the time if it had presented itself.
There is also the elephant in the room that this would have resulted in extra spending and the question of whether the Glazers would have green-lighted any of this, but we also have to consider that A) extra players could have been moved on to part-fund (for example with some of my picks, both Henderson and Dalot could probably have been shifted) and B) this would result in a reduced need to blow vast amounts of money in this summers window (again using my picks as an example, I think you could probably get away with going after Akanji and Nunez and be in pretty good shape for the 2022/23 season).
Anyway, here are my picks and apologies if this thread gets anybody down thinking about what could have been.
Was more just interested to see who people would have liked United to have signed, not intending to make anybody more depressed than they probably already are!- Mike Maignan, GK, Lille (£13m)
Was super impressive at Lille and looked to have it all. Not only a very good shot stopper, but modern keeper who can sweep off his line and is comfortable with the ball at his feet. Thought Milan got a bargain replacing Donnarumma with him and lo and behold he's arguably the best keeper in Serie A after one season.
Arguably a top 8 keeper in the world who would fit every system, and if United were a bit bolder in their evaluation of their current keepers and came to the probably logical conclusion a bit earlier that neither De Gea or Henderson are what they're looking for, they might have been able to solve this position for the next 6 or 7 years for next to nothing.
- Kieran Trippier, RB, Atletico Madrid (£12m)
He was obviously heavily linked at a point when it seemed Atletico wanted 3 times the price for him. When it became evident he was available in January for a cut-price amount, I'm not sure why United weren't in for him. Or maybe they were and he wanted to be a building block at Newcastle, but I have to believe a starting spot at Old Trafford was on the cards he would have gone for that instead.
Obviously not a long-term deal, but a superb and affordable fix for the RB spot (along with added set-piece value) for the next 2-3 seasons. Even if you think you can continue to develop either Wan-Bissaka or Dalot as the long-term starter (which I don't and I think most United fans would agree) he's not necessarily going to block their path for too long.
- Rodrigo Bentancur, CM, Juventus (£15.8m initial fee with £5.7m potential add-ons)
- Dejan Kulusevski, RW, Juventus (£8.3m loan with £29.2m option to buy)
I've combined these together as this felt like a package deal. I wasn't too sure about either of these when they arrived, but for the initial outlay I think this was more than worth a stab particularly when you consider they both fill positions of need. Neither may be a long-term fix (especially Bentancur) but for less than £25m initially you are upgrading 2 positions of dire need half way through a faltering season.
- Bruno Guimaraes, CM, Lyon (£33.5m)
Early days yet but I think this guy will be a star. The technical ability always stood out from when he joined Lyon but he also showed a tenacity that has seen him adapt very quickly to the PL and become an instant cult hero on Tyneside. Added goals to his game too and his passion and desire would probably have helped kickstart United in the 2nd half of the season.
*Fees are just from figures I found quickly reported on the internet from fairly reputable sources like Sky Sports.