Solskjaer target 5 signings; 6 players could leave [BBC, Telegraph, Guardian]

El-Manos said:
Starting to look like a disastrous window in all honesty. That would be the 2nd summer we've failed miserably to improve the squad.
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Agreed. United have succeeded in precisely zero of the targets they set themselves.

- The deadwood haven't been cleared out.
- The midfield hasn't been strengthened. In fact, it is weaker than it was last season because Herrera is now gone.
- While signing Wan-Bissaka is a big deal IMO, it doesn't strengthen the defence nearly enough because United still crucially need at least one top central defender.
- The attack is still questionable. A lot of pressure on Rashford and Martial to deliver goals.
- The squad is still far too dependent on the first 11. We're still in a position where even a single injury could be disastrous, as there is no quality depth on the bench.
- The squad seems too dependent on Pogba to create still.

I said it somewhere else, but this disastrous summer is setting up Ole for a fall (albeit of course not intentionally). I have all the faith in the world in him, and am looking forward to more of the entertaining football we played at the beginning of the year, but barring a miracle it won't be enough. The season will be disappointing, and people will turn on Ole, and it will be a massive shame.
 
backofthenet said:
I'm sure we've been hawking him around the entire continent. What do you do if no one wants to buy? Same with Rojo... and definitely the same with Sanchez
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Wasn't there that story that we we're asking for like £25m or something for Rojo (I may have made that up... ) and whilst its the press, so it should be taken with a pinch of salt, i imagine the club want to get a decent fee for the players - which is understandable, but also probably why they haven't been moved on (Again, I highly doubt that Darmian wouldn't be purchased for less then £5m... about half of the Prem clubs alone would snap that up).
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Wasn't there that story that we we're asking for like £25m or something for Rojo (I may have made that up... ) and whilst its the press, so it should be taken with a pinch of salt, i imagine the club want to get a decent fee for the players - which is understandable, but also probably why they haven't been moved on (Again, I highly doubt that Darmian wouldn't be purchased for less then £5m... about half of the Prem clubs alone would snap that up).
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I'm sure we'd love to get a fee, but with the squad limit being what it is, I can't see how we could get anything other than something nominal. Plus the wages again will be putting off clubs, even in the cash rich premiership. Bring in a fullback on 100k a week and you're damn certain to get your star striker asking for a bloody great payrise.
 
So no Bruno no Longstaff. Second best midfielder left the club for nothing. At least we have AWB. We fixed the spot which should have been fixed for years. Bravo!
 
Regarding incoming transfers you can take anything the press says with a liberal helping of salt. Some of the rumours may have a fragment of truth others are page fillers/click bait. However, one thing that is absolutely certain is that we will not be off-loading any of the players we need to. The reason being that they are all sat on high wages ( by most clubs standards ) most have nice long contracts and a few are not the right age but most importantly they are all not very good players. My bet is these players will gradually fade into the background and will only want to move when they see the end of the gravy train in sight.

There is only one person to blame for this shambolic state of affairs and I'm afraid he will still be here next year and for years to come. We talk about what can be done about him but the truth is, very little. We can only hope to get new buyers in the future who understand how to run a football club or are at least willing to let people who do know get on with the job with as little interference as possible.

In the meantime settle for the two signings we have so far and any others that may happen.
 
Bestofthebest said:
Regarding incoming transfers you can take anything the press says with a liberal helping of salt. Some of the rumours may have a fragment of truth others are page fillers/click bait. However, one thing that is absolutely certain is that we will not be off-loading any of the players we need to. The reason being that they are all sat on high wages ( by most clubs standards ) most have nice long contracts and a few are not the right age but most importantly they are all not very good players. My bet is these players will gradually fade into the background and will only want to move when they see the end of the gravy train in sight.

There is only one person to blame for this shambolic state of affairs and I'm afraid he will still be here next year and for years to come. We talk about what can be done about him but the truth is, very little. We can only hope to get new buyers in the future who understand how to run a football club or are at least willing to let people who do know get on with the job with as little interference as possible.

In the meantime settle for the two signings we have so far and any others that may happen.
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I agree with your post. I agree with the first point in bold and I feel the reason we find it hard to sell them is due to wages we pay which they would not get at other clubs and if they leave they wont accept less wages anywhere else unless they desperately want first team football rather than being stuck on our bench or willing to fight to get back into the team. I fear the only way we will get rid of some of these players is letting their contracts run down and hopefully not renewing them. I agree fully on the second part in bold as that is very similar to something I previously posted.
 
Judas said:
Longstaff is a typical old school Utd signing, doing it early before he becomes massive. No issue with it. Because he's not called Longstaffinho you've got a problem. This "Brexit 11" talk is embarrassing.
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Problem we have is, the squad needs that much work signing 'projects' this isn't the time for.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Wasn't there that story that we we're asking for like £25m or something for Rojo (I may have made that up... ) and whilst its the press, so it should be taken with a pinch of salt, i imagine the club want to get a decent fee for the players - which is understandable, but also probably why they haven't been moved on (Again, I highly doubt that Darmian wouldn't be purchased for less then £5m... about half of the Prem clubs alone would snap that up).
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A full back that has almost no attacking threat at a time when that is the main function of the role?
 
August approaching... And we're still stuck with Rojo, Darmian and all others that is/could be surplus to our squad... I actually thought we were heading in the right direction in the sales area when we sold Schneiderlin and Depay for great numbers... Boy was I wrong
 
Eric's Seagull said:
Although I would like us to sign a few more players this window. I think we need to to realise we can't sort out all our problems in one window and be patient and have faith in the rebuilding process.
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I do agree with you, but only to an extent....
One first XI player coming in during a whole Summer window means a rebuild will never be completed, we need to make a more serious inroad, and bring in at least 3 to get the project truly underway.
 
JoaquinJoaquin said:
Problem we have is, the squad needs that much work signing 'projects' this isn't the time for.
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It absolutely is, in my opinion. We need direction. We need more than quick fixes. We need players who are going to want to be here and not 'big names' who are too big time to give a shit. We've tried that approach and it's not worked.
 
You're Woodward. (quite possibly the worst insult to give someone. "Don't be a Woodward, ya Ed!")

There will be no sales and you have one signing to make. What will it be? CDM or CB?
 
sewey89 said:
It absolutely is, in my opinion. We need direction. We need more than quick fixes. We need players who are going to want to be here and not 'big names' who are too big time to give a shit. We've tried that approach and it's not worked.
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I don't think necessarily we need to buy big names, but need more experienced quality.
 
What is the plan for the striker department? Are we really going to rely our Greenwood and Rashford to deliver the goals we need this season? I know some thing Martial can do it too, but man, we need some one reliable I'd think. Guess I'm just worried for goals. Hopefully our midfielders contribute lots this season.
 
Alabaster Codify7 said:
Its what I and others keep saying though - selling means replacing.

Given how shite players like Rojo and Darmian are, replacing them will cost more money. Hence they are kept on. Same goes for Jones. If we sold Phil Jones, we'd get what, £15m. We'd need a replacement probably, and given the current market, that'd cost us upwards of £30-40m - 80m if we are going full-bore.
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That is possible but it still seems like a losing strategy... Sell 1-2 guys and promote from the academy. What is the point in keeping players who are constantly injure, not good enought or both. Academy players will be on way lower wages as well.
 
Unreal that we still have the likes of Rojo, Darmian and Sanchez on our books.
 
soralapio said:
- The deadwood haven't been cleared out.
- The midfield hasn't been strengthened. In fact, it is weaker than it was last season because Herrera is now gone.
- While signing Wan-Bissaka is a big deal IMO, it doesn't strengthen the defence nearly enough because United still crucially need at least one top central defender.
- The attack is still questionable. A lot of pressure on Rashford and Martial to deliver goals.
- The squad is still far too dependent on the first 11. We're still in a position where even a single injury could be disastrous, as there is no quality depth on the bench.
- The squad seems too dependent on Pogba to create still.
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Agreed on all points, however, there will be some on here who say, "but there is still X days till the window closes". After so many poor transfer windows, they still haven't understood that Woodward is incompetent. They only transfer which I rate him for is Paul Pogba, but even that took a boatload of money to get done and relied heavily on the fact that Jose Mourinho was in charge. Jose being here sold the idea that we were now going to win the elite level trophies. Now that he has gone, we are limited to buying players from the EPL and Championship and even these are proving difficult.

Whatever the case, Woodward is incompetent and while he is here, I just don't see us ever coming close to winning the league. This has been the case for 7 years. This will be the 8th year and no doubt many more years to come.
 
Suv666 said:
Unreal that we still have the likes of Rojo, Darmian and Sanchez on our books.
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We don't have anywhere near as much to spend as many think. These 3 draining at least £25m a year in wages and being worth next to nothing in transfer fees is a big problem.
 
Leftback99 said:
We don't have anywhere near as much to spend as many think. These 3 draining at least £25m a year in wages and being worth next to nothing in transfer fees is a big problem.
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How could it be? We have the largest revenue and the lowest wage/revenue ratio among them all - certainly we can spend on players (can and want are different things)
 
I am not shocked at our lack of activity this window or the previous one, I am surprised that so many fans seemed to think we would be making a big splash in the window, we haven’t bought big since 2016 6 windows have passed. I think MUFC is like a disease atm it’s got to get worse for it to get better, the harder we fall the more likely the glazers will sell up.... that’s our only hope.

I do wonder though, is it the glazers tightening the purse strings or are we genuinely unable to get deals over the line for our targets.
 
“I cannot say so much other than that we have a good squad now. The ones we have here are a good team.”

Inevitably, these words will come back to haunt him, when the same bunch of players chuck him under a bus
 
Alemar said:
How could it be? We have the largest revenue and the lowest wage/revenue ratio among them all - certainly we can spend on players (can and want are different things)
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But yet we only made £26m profit last year. Where is all the extra capacity to spend going to come from?
 
I'm sure one of the advantages of having Ole as manager, from Woody's and the Owners' point of view, is that he won't kick up a fuss if he doesn't get the players he wants. He'll just keep smiling. He's just happy to be in the job!
 
Shakesey said:
You're Woodward. (quite possibly the worst insult to give someone. "Don't be a Woodward, ya Ed!")

There will be no sales and you have one signing to make. What will it be? CDM or CB?
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CDM and hope Tuanzebe can make the step up. At least a defensive midfielder will help protect the defence better along with making the midfield tick, we're simply too light in midfield at the moment.
 
Suv666 said:
Unreal that we still have the likes of Rojo, Darmian and Sanchez on our books.
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Sanchez is injured and can't be sold. Rojo and Darmian are targeted by clubs that have a bigger transfer window that English clubs, and are not part of the starting XI as it is. What is the problem that they're warming the bench for now? They're not good enough but we're not giving them away for free, the clubs valuation must be met.
 
Sparky Rhiwabon said:
I'm sure one of the advantages of having Ole as manager, from Woody's and the Owners' point of view, is that he won't kick up a fuss if he doesn't get the players he wants. He'll just keep smiling. He's just happy to be in the job!
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Pretty much this. Disgrace this transfer window so far. One player to improve the first team.
 
IMO every thing hinges on Pogba if he goes I see Possibly SMS and Bruno coming in if not probably just Maguire to make us solid at the back , not sure we will try replace Lukaku if he leaves .
 
Ikon said:
I do agree with you, but only to an extent....
One first XI player coming in during a whole Summer window means a rebuild will never be completed, we need to make a more serious inroad, and bring in at least 3 to get the project truly underway.
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I understand your point and as I pointed out we need to be patient but there is an extent this cab be extended to this as if we don't get a couple more players in to start the rebuild will fall too far behind the teams.
 
Tom Cato said:
Sanchez is injured and can't be sold. Rojo and Darmian are targeted by clubs that have a bigger transfer window that English clubs, and are not part of the starting XI as it is. What is the problem that they're warming the bench for now? They're not good enough but we're not giving them away for free, the clubs valuation must be met.
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Where have I said we should discard them for free? The board is inept at moving out players that has been proven time and time again. The likes of Chelsea and Lpool are able to sell their deadwood at great prices. Its not that there is no market for the likes of Rojo and Darmian, we are horrid at negotiating.
 
Before this window, and when the "5 signings" was announced, I was looking for a RB, CB, CM, RW and a ST. With Herrera leaving, we needed another CM.

I also wanted the dross gone too, Darmian, Valencia, 2 of Bailly/Rojo/Jones, Matic, Sanchez and Lukaku gone.

So far, we've signed 1 RB, no CB, no 2x CMs, no RW and no ST.

We've managed to release Valencia only with Sanchez/Lukaku/Bailly/Rojo/Jones STILL on our books.

We're struggling here and this has been a poor window. Take a look at the CB issue, we need another one desperately, absolutely desperately. And we still haven't clinched one. And if we do sign one, Lindelof/CB/Smalling/Tuanzebe/Jones is adequate enough yet we will STILL have Rojo and Bailly on our books, thus losing out on transfer fees and losing unnecessary salaries to them. It's baffling.

Look at our CM, we have Pogba/Fred/McTominay/Matic/Pereira and that's it (likes of Lingard and Mata can provide last ditch cover). Matic is finished as far as I am concerned and Pereira isn't up to the mark. Now imagine Pogba is injured, who are we left with? We've lost Fellaini and Herrera and not replaced any of them.

The CBs and CMs are a real, real issue.

The RW situation can be forgiven because it's quite clear they are looking to sign Sancho next summer + there is adequate cover, as it stands (Rashford/Lukaku/Sanchez/Mata/Greenwood). The ST still cannot be forgiven for me, Lukaku is quite frankly not good enough for us and I doubt Rashford's capabilities as our #9. Ideally for this season, I would have liked a Martial---ST----Rashford front three but I don't understand why we're not making moves, it baffles me.

So far, this has been a poor window. We're not clinching the right deals for the right players in the right areas.
 
Suv666 said:
Where have I said we should discard them for free? The board is inept at moving out players that has been proven time and time again. The likes of Chelsea and Lpool are able to sell their deadwood at great prices. Its not that there is no market for the likes of Rojo and Darmian, we are horrid at negotiating.
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They have to actually make a bid first friend
 
I was really pleased when I thought we were going to sign 5 players. Would have liked right back, centre-back, right winger, centre midfielder and cdm plus players recruited to cover any outgoings but sadly that's not happening. If we had recruited these players I think it would have been a good start to the rebuild. As of the moment by signing AWB and James I think we will struggle for top 4. Really hoping we sign a few players the next couple of weeks but can't see it happening as I think Woody and his vast knowledge of football thinks our squad is strong enough as it is:annoyed:
 
Suv666 said:
Unreal that we still have the likes of Rojo, Darmian and Sanchez on our books.
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I agree with you. The problem is we pay them such high wages that no other club id going pay them and they are not going to want to take a wage cut unless they are desperate for first team football. Sanchez is abysmal and it was pathetic that he only scored 1 league all season. Darmian is wasting his career here and I feel will leave next year on a free. Rojo is to injury prone. All 3 should have been moved on this summer. As Serie A window finishes 23rd August and La Liga on 2nd September I feel we may yet have time to get rid of Rojo and Darmian although i doubt it and I think Sanchez will be here until next season at least.
 
Deja vu from last summer. High hopes, many players needed, need to sell few players too. Two ok signings and that's it. 4. place will be our trophy.:boring:
 
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