So did the club send the right message last summer when it spent £130m+ on Sancho, Ronaldo and Varane?
Yes it did.
Not very well because of many problems behind the scenes. Squad disharmony because of bad squad management, plus a midfield area that was totally neglected.
The squad as it is currently was more than capable of coming 4th and avoiding the EL without January reinforcements.
No it wasn’t because it relied on a 37 year old striker playing three games a week with no decent back-up (that should have been bought in January after the departure of Martial and Greenwood’s suspension).
And a midfield relying on an ageing Matic who could only play 60 minutes a week, and a McFred combo that even teams from the bottom of the table could overrun. Another area that could have been strengthened with low-price or temporary options.
Perhaps if those suggested midfielders wanted to actually come to United. Did they?
Coming to United was not an option for them because the board did not want to buy them or show concrete interest in them (see example below).
Because Zakaria preferred to go to Juventus from everything that's been reported.
Not true. From everything that’s been reported the board were never really interested in signing Zakaria and did not bid for him. We only monitored him.
Here’s the exact quote from Romano:
“In January they (United) were offered the chance, and they discussed the chance, to sign Boubacar Kamara from Marseille or Denis Zakaria from Borussia Monchengladbach. But the board said ‘no, no transfers in January’.”
And this is the exact quote from Zakaria:
“Because Juventus are the club that showed the most desire to sign me. There is something to do with the feeling too.
“You can feel the way people talk to you, the interest people have in you. Other clubs that approached me were more reserved. With Juve, there was an immediate real interest in me, with concrete things from the outset. It’s pleasant, rewarding, and that made the difference.”
In other words Juventus were the only ones who were really interested.