19 November 2023 , 07:45
944
0
If you're out there, mystery man, feel free to get in touch.
Almost four years on from the picture that sent transfer-hungry Manchester United supporters into a spin, few still seem to know who was being chauffeur driven into the training ground on 28 January, 2020.
With doubts surrounding whether Bruno Fernandes would complete a protracted move from Sporting Lisbon, supporters were refreshing their Twitter feeds manically in pursuit of a glimmer of hope. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team had ground to make up in pursuit of a top-four finish and there were fears that the squad did not have enough to succeed.
So when the unidentified man was pictured on his way into Carrington in the back of a black Mercedes, fans were immediately sent into an inexplicable frenzy, a perfect case study of how uncontrollable the transfer window has become.
First, there were claims on social media that it was Sander Berge, the midfielder who ended up at Sheffield United. But there was just one small problem: the man in the back of the black Mercedes and Berge, who is now turning out for Burnley, look absolutely nothing alike.
Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash
When that theory was disproved, it was suggested that the mystery man was a young goalkeeper arriving to sign for the academy. Nathan Bishop, who this summer moved to Sunderland, was the goalkeeper who put pen to paper at United four days later after arriving from Southend United. And, again, they looked nothing alike.
In the same week, Solskjaer was playing down the need for United to strengthen and pointed to a mixed record of recruiting successfully during the winter transfer window.
"I can't remember how many good ones we've brought in and good deals in January,” Solskjaer said. "Henrik Larsson was good, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra. It's very hard, the clubs don't want to lose their best players."
The mystery man arriving at Manchester United's training ground on January 28, 2020 (Eamonn and James Clarke)And yet out of desperation, they stumped up the €80m (£67.6m at the time) fee Sporting Lisbon were demanding for Fernandes before, in a move that still seems bizarre now, seeking to fix their goalscoring woes by bringing in Odion Ighalo on loan from Shanghai Shenhua of the then Chinese Super League on deadline day.
The Nigeria international’s arrival was delayed because of the coronavirus outbreak in China and when he eventually arrived (having taken a pay cut) he could only find the net in cup competitions.
Fernandes, meanwhile, has gone on to become club captain, even if he remains a divisive presence among supporters and pundits. But the man in the black Mercedes? No idea.