Renato Sanches joins Bayern

[Maradona10]

Louis van Gaal vetoed a move for Renato Sanches in favour of pursuing other transfer targets in the clearest indication yet that he could stay on as Manchester United manager beyond the summer.

Sanches joined Bayern Munich from Benfica on Tuesday in a deal worth an initial £27.6 million but which could rise to £63.1 million depending on the Portugal midfielder’s success with the German giants.

United had scouted Sanches extensively and held advanced talks with Benfica and the 18-year-old’s agent, Jorge Mendes, but senior sources at Old Trafford told Telegraph Sport on Tuesday afternoon that the club had backed away from a deal in February.

It is thought that Van Gaal was unwilling to pursue a deal at that price and that he has other midfield targets that he has asked the club to chase instead.

Some will regard that as an exercise in damage limitation on United’s part and sources close to the Sanches camp have suggested that the Manchester club ended up losing out on the player because they dragged their heels and were undermined by the lack of clarity over Van Gaal’s future.

“The problem with United at the moment is indecision,” one source said. “They don’t do the steps to get what they want. They leave it indefinitely and at some point lose everything.”

But it would be a surprising move by United if they allowed Van Gaal to block a move for Sanches, a leading target for whom they had put in tremendous groundwork, in the knowledge that a few months down the line they would be sacking the Dutchman.

United will guarantee qualification for the Champions League if they win their final two league games, starting against West Ham at Upton Park tonight and concluding with Bournemouth on Sunday. They then play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final a week on Saturday.

United have an agreement in principle with Jose Mourinho, the former Chelsea manager, but nothing has been signed and unless the club opt to formally press ahead with that it holds little meaning. Van Gaal’s prospects of staying had appeared slim and Mourinho has been confident of taking over at Old Trafford but the Dutchman said recently that he had been working on transfer plans for the summer and has long maintained that his future is a question for the club’s hierarchy.

 

[sdb4884]

Jesus is this a small snapshot of what's going to happen in the summer as well.

 

[NJM78]

Firstly, who said we were ever really in for him?
Secondly, he has had one good season in Portugal and is 18 years old?

Every man and their dog seemed to believe we were in for him and even trusted sources on here like Di Marzio were saying it was all but done plus the more reliable Portuguese press (I know that's not saying much) were saying the same thing. Also to have our scouts in attendance over 20 times, it would surely be leaked who we were there to see, unless we are signing Gaitan for the fifth time this summer and needed to remind ourselves again of why we want him every year!

I just think he chose them after they came in late. Imagine at 18 years old and you are already a permanent fixture in your club side and have been given your international debut in same season, to then have a choice of two super clubs (only one actually being super on the pitch though) must be unbelievable for him.
We were probably not 100% on point with the financial elements of the deal and also with our current manager set up we were not willing to commit, again like the Jose reports I think we are waiting on the season to end. Either way Bayern are no mugs so I do think we have missed out on a player who has huge potential and I also believe we were very much interested in him.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Louis van Gaal vetoed a move for Renato Sanches in favour of pursuing other transfer targets in the clearest indication yet that he could stay on as Manchester United manager beyond the summer.

Sanches joined Bayern Munich from Benfica on Tuesday in a deal worth an initial £27.6 million but which could rise to £63.1 million depending on the Portugal midfielder’s success with the German giants.

United had scouted Sanches extensively and held advanced talks with Benfica and the 18-year-old’s agent, Jorge Mendes, but senior sources at Old Trafford told Telegraph Sport on Tuesday afternoon that the club had backed away from a deal in February.

It is thought that Van Gaal was unwilling to pursue a deal at that price and that he has other midfield targets that he has asked the club to chase instead.

Some will regard that as an exercise in damage limitation on United’s part and sources close to the Sanches camp have suggested that the Manchester club ended up losing out on the player because they dragged their heels and were undermined by the lack of clarity over Van Gaal’s future.

“The problem with United at the moment is indecision,” one source said. “They don’t do the steps to get what they want. They leave it indefinitely and at some point lose everything.”

But it would be a surprising move by United if they allowed Van Gaal to block a move for Sanches, a leading target for whom they had put in tremendous groundwork, in the knowledge that a few months down the line they would be sacking the Dutchman.

United will guarantee qualification for the Champions League if they win their final two league games, starting against West Ham at Upton Park tonight and concluding with Bournemouth on Sunday. They then play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final a week on Saturday.

United have an agreement in principle with Jose Mourinho, the former Chelsea manager, but nothing has been signed and unless the club opt to formally press ahead with that it holds little meaning. Van Gaal’s prospects of staying had appeared slim and Mourinho has been confident of taking over at Old Trafford but the Dutchman said recently that he had been working on transfer plans for the summer and has long maintained that his future is a question for the club’s hierarchy.

Glorious.

 

[ocprodigy]

Good post.

I think Woodward did really well in 2014/15. No one could have predicted that both Di Maria and Falcao was gonna turn out to be that bad.

In 2015/16 he did OK, but, we really needed another attacking option(preferably a big star). Martial turned out well, but he was never going to be enough. Woodward's failure to get that final big signing cost us a title challenge and potentially top 4. Look at how poor we've been offensively and then look at the options we have. Football Manager generation aside: anyone could see that we were too light-weight. All the pundits picked up on it, and they were all right.

That was down to Van Gaal though, nothing to do with Woodward.

 

[JPRouve]

Yeah, and if he does achieve those things they will have one of the best players in world. So 60m with a massive resell value potential makes the fee look like nothing.
Even 27m for a solid midfielder for 6 years, they could sell on and make back most if not all of their money back is still worth the risk. Who knows what the prices will be in 2021..

No, they will have bought a top player at a top price, that price will never be nothing like Neymar's price isn't nothing.

 

[CM]

I generally agree with you but Bayern is one of the best run clubs in the world. If you compare their transfer dealings over the past few years, getting Pep after leaving Barca, getting Carlo in right away when Pep was leaving, all these things when stacked up against Woodward's performance then it's plain that we have been listless at best. The fact that Bayern is paying so much for Sanches should say something about (i) the high potential of this player (by all accounts we scouted him 24 times) and (ii) how we seem to get pipped to players by Bayern again. To be fair, Sanchez may not have really wanted to come here when Bayern came calling. But all in all, I don't think this reflects well on Woodward, no matter how some people are spinning it now.

Agreed. This is just me speculating but I wonder if this may be a by-product of Woodward not yet making a decision on Mourinho/van Gaal. If van Gaal vetoed the deal, Woodward overruling him probably wouldn't look too good.

 

[JustAFan]

As far as Bayern efficiency, yeah great they signed Hummels already, but haven't they been linked to him for a few years now? So even they will sometimes have to wait for a player yes?

 

[starman]

No, they will have bought a top player at a top price, that price will never be nothing like Neymar's price isn't nothing.

60m for a world player of the year before 24, in this day and age is nothing

 

[JPRouve]

60m for a world player of the year before his peak, in this day and age is nothing

It's not nothing, it's on par but on par doesn't make it nothing.

 

[Dir Wangem]

That was down to Van Gaal though, nothing to do with Woodward.

Are you really sure about that?

I find it harder to believe that Van Gaal seriously thought we were sorted out offensively, with Martial, Mata, Depay, Young and an out of form Rooney as our only attacking options. It makes much more sense that Woodward was working his socks off behind the scenes, trying to close down a big deal, only to fail and leave Van Gaal with a very limited attack.

 

[Esquire]

Agreed. This is just me speculating but I wonder if this may be a byproduct of Woodward not yet making a decision on Mourinho/van Gaal. If van Gaal vetoed the deal, Woodward overruling him probably wouldn't look too good.

Yeah we don't know. But VG vetoing a buy after the prospect being scouted 24 times sounds completely illogical and downright counter productive. Oh wait, we are talking about VG and Woodward here.

I honestly don't really care right now. Sanches may turn out to be the next Ronaldo but that's for the future. I just care about having VG out and Woodward to learn how to play the transfer game quickly.

 

[RikRuud]

I haven't been following this transfer as close since we always seem to dither around and either overpay for the player or not offer enough and let someone else buy him. We seem to always be linked with players that end up elsewhere which can either be we don't value the player for the amount being asked or it's just BS reports and the agents and or club are trying to get us to pull the trigger before someone else does. I imagine the club thinks it looks good to always be linked with great players. Flattery and all that. Sooner or later we begin to look like we're being run by idiots if we don't get those players. We've been burned on both sides and have also dodged some bullets.
Not really bothered that we didn't get him. I'm sure there will be 10 other players we don't get this summer. You can bet players communicate with each other. I'm doubt anyone has put in a good word regarding LVG.

I agree with pretty much all of this, I just hope that it's the management identifying targets and not the men upstairs.

 

[GiddyUp]

How many Academy players do they field these days?

I'm sure their academy is more then adequate. They are a world class club operating on a world class level, look at the players they have and have had in the last ten years, amazing. A no fuss club who learn from their mistakes. Why does it always turn to the academy on this forum, ours certainly hasn't been pulling up trees the last 12 years.

 

[Brophs]

So he has our full support yet the club basically holds him out in front to take the (idiotic but inevitable) flak they'll get for not spending a ridiculous amount of money on an 18 year old with less than one full season under his belt.

 

[Wumminator]

What the feck are you lot complaining about now?

We can't fecking sign anyone you absolute idiots. All the insults flung at Woodwood? What do you want him to do. Some of you cry every time a player moves anywhere. Haven't seen this much whining since we missed out on.... Pedro or Otamendi.

 

[JPRouve]

What the feck are you lot complaining about now?

We can't fecking sign anyone you absolute idiots. All the insults flung at Woodwood? What do you want him to do. Some of you cry every time a player moves anywhere. Haven't seen this much whining since we missed out on.... Pedro or Otamendi.

 

[Wade3]

We've scouted him a lot more than Bayern, perhaps there were simply too many questions marks surrounding him? We did sign Martial for a huge fee and everybody called us crazy. Hence I trust our scouting department.

This doesn't mean Sanches is a flop, just that instead of praising them for their efficiency, one should realize they probably took a big risk as well.

 

[Sid234]

I wouldnt believe anything the press says.. This happens every year, and people get riled up over apparent failed transfers. If the club hasn't made their mind up on Van Gaal, it would make no sense to attempt to sign a player hoping that he fits into the new manager's plans/tactics.
We did that with Herrera and Shaw but I think at this stage enough money has been thrown around and if the rumors of us bringing in a Director of Football are true, then he'd play a major role in deciding transfers as well.

Also, I think we're doing the right thing by staying silent on Van Gaal's future as we still have the FA cup and 4th play for.. Undermining him like Citeh did with Guardiola's announcement would have resulted in worse results, worse than they already have been.

The club's general silence on the issue is telling though, and personally I think we are looking to replace him.

As frustrating as it is, the club is doing the right thing and respectful thing by staying quiet on the issue of LvG's future and waiting for the season to end before making any decisions. It's the classy way, and I think the United way of doing things.

Before anyone brings up Moyes, we basically waited till we had nothing really left to play for in the season. Even 4th place was pretty much impossible at that point.

 

[The United]

That article sounds like United are falling behind in youth development shit narrative.

Probably 80% (total made up shit) of caf will fall for it and call the club embarrassing.

Speaking of not singing players, how did Otamendi turn out? I remember there were massive upset at not signing him at the beginning of the season.

Also, we can scout a player a lot and decide not to sign it. There is no crime.

And, people talking shit about Woodward not being able to attract "big names" or couldn't sign players fast enough, you only have to remember it was more or less the same if not worse under SAF and Gill when we were at peak with a great manager.

 

[podurban2]

"Too expensive, no technique." Maybe LvG will get a couple of fanboys now.

 

[peridigm]

I agree with pretty much all of this, I just hope that it's the management identifying targets and not the men upstairs.

I'm not convinced LVG is the best person to identify our targets either. He clearly is not a great man manager and does not appear to be putting a lot of confidence in the players. Just my opinion of course. I don't know if the players are not happy or not but their body language and form sure does say a lot. I think this club needs a DOF. Woodward making the football decisions is not working out.

 

[Norris]

Right, so how many of you are responsible for the Twitter outburst on Woodward... ??

 

[barros]

Wow Bayern doesn't mess around. Not even "O Jogo" or any portuguese news outlet knew anything about this. I'm having lunch break and looking at the TV at the restaurant and in Sic Notícias it says 35 million euros with objectives rising up to 80 million euros. No one expected this. Pure german efficiency

I think they messed up, he's not worth more than 20 million. With 20 million more they could buy Probga so I don't think that was good business on the Germans part, someone saved benfica's finances again...

 

[ivaldo]

Well done LVG, genuinely beleive this is a bullet dodged, far better midfielders out there.

 

[GimmeAKitKat]

I think they messed up, he's not worth more than 20 million. With 20 million more they could buy Probga so I don't think that was good business on the Germans part, someone saved benfica's finances again...

Pogba costing 40-50million... You need to get back on your meds bud.

And regardless of how far down the line we went with this guy or why the deal didn't go through, United continue to look like a joke every season because they allow us to be used by anybody from Messi to League 2 tom, dick or harry as a bargaining chip.

Clearly the decision makers at Bayern didnt wake up on Saturday and think, lets go spend a lot of money on a kid from Portugal and see how it goes......eeny, meenie, miney, mo, he'll do. Theyve surely scouted him to a similar level as us but not been dragged through the papers and social media every 5 minutes. They did their work, got a deal done and signed him before people had a chance to start pissing about.

They also didnt have the mother of all clusterfecks of a summer hanging over them like we do. Pep's out, Ancellotti is confirmed. "Here you go Renato, this is what we can offer, this is how we get shit done. Everything is pre-planned and ready to go. Here's our offer, like it? Great, just sign here......done."

United go after targets more like" Hi Renato, would you like to sign for a club that's in close to utter turmoil, low on confidence, short of quality players and a working tactical plan, and may or may not have a massive upheaval this summer with a potential manager change (exact manager unknown), leading more than likely to a very rushed "grab anything that moves" attitude to player acquisitions late in the summer after various tournaments are over.......we're sure next season will be different....we've prepared in just as shoddy a way as previously....but...well....we cant continue to be punished for our incompetence can we.......can we?"

 

[100]

Right, so how many of you are responsible for the Twitter outburst on Woodward... ??

Not me, I've written a strongly worded letter. (Closed)

 

[Castia]

I'll be honest I thought we were getting ripped off.....Bayern stepping in makes me think otherwise now

 

[Bestie07]

I don't think it's a case of us messing up or pulling out from the deal. Right now, Bayern are just a more attractive club to play for than us and most likely the player decided he wanted to sign for them. In a way it could be good for us, as howsoever good he might be in the future, our needs are more urgent.

 

[Van Piorsing]

I'll be honest I thought we were getting ripped off.....Bayern stepping in makes me think otherwise now

They made their choice but it's our turn now and United have much more time to come up with a better player.

 

[OutlawGER]

I think they messed up, he's not worth more than 20 million. With 20 million more they could buy Probga so I don't think that was good business on the Germans part, someone saved benfica's finances again...

He just gets this expensive if he wins the Balon d'or in the next 5 years. And that's not very likely. Though im not even sure yet if it's really 35+45 or just 35+10 (up to 45). Bayern's record transfer fee so far is still 40m€ for Martinez, so i guess they wouldn't pay 80m for a 18 year old.

 

[RedChip]

Bayern have been double bluffed. At least I hope so.

 

[Sereques]

While some parts of the media have said it was all Sanches choice, the ABU media and fans will try to make this look like our fault.

One Journo even said it helps that Bayern know who is coaching them next season. I'm like what?

 

[Sereques]

How does he know the number of time Bayern and United scouted the player? Is there some kind of roll call forms they fill out the stadium?

Jeez, scouts buy tickets and watch games like every fan and somehow this guy manage to pick out that MUFC was there 24 times?

 

[J-Stander]

How does he know the number of time Bayern and United scouted the player? Is there some kind of roll call forms they fill out the stadium?

Jeez, scouts buy tickets and watch games like every fan and somehow this guy manage to pick out that MUFC was there 24 times?

A lot of Portuguese clubs produce lists of the scouts at the games. Seen Braga and Porto do it as well.

 

[Kasper]

Why are there 12 pages within a few hours about a transfer of a player - who barely anyone has seen on this forum - to a club that isn't even in Uniteds league?

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

You can't be disappointed, he has potential but so do a lot of young players, and for that fee we can just as easily go for one of those and get some change, obviously if this has been done on Louis's say so then we're fecked, but that's a different story.

 

[JustFootballFan]

He just gets this expensive if he wins the Balon d'or in the next 5 years. And that's not very likely. Though im not even sure yet if it's really 35+45 or just 35+10 (up to 45). Bayern's record transfer fee so far is still 40m€ for Martinez, so i guess they wouldn't pay 80m for a 18 year old.

Well given the new British money and if he really wins a Balon d´Or before age 23, he´s easily worth +€100M. It depends what the add ons specify for each additional payment. It´s probably Bundesliga/German Cup with a certain amount of starts, then CL win, and some individiual achievements.

 

[ghagua]

IF LvG really vetoed the signing of Sanches, then we're totally and utterly fecked. If he has the veto power, then he is staying for his 3rd season followed by Giggs as the manager.

 

[Cassidy]

IF LvG really vetoed the signing of Sanches, then we're totally and utterly fecked. If he has the veto power, then he is staying for his 3rd season followed by Giggs as the manager.

It says he vetoed it in Feb, which makes very little sense given all the recent news about it.
EDIT: On top of that why would he need to veto it in the first place back in Feb