Man Utd transfer planning proves Gary Neville's harsh words were spot on

06 January 2024 , 07:15

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Neville has been critical of Utd's transfer window philosophy

Manchester United legend Gary Neville previously thrashed his former club for a last-minute approach to the transfer window - and recent planning shows they still need to take his advice.

In 2020, Neville criticised United's last-minute loan deal for striker Odion Ighalo, outlining the club's poor transfer market preparation. Despite taking a significant pay cut to make the boyhood dream happen, Ighalo made twelve appearances for United and scored no Premier League goals.

The player's move occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when world football was suspended. Initially set to expire in May, his loan was extended until January. However, he left the club during the same month.

At the time, Ighalo was brought in to replace an injured Marcus Rashford. Neville explained how the club waited too late for a replacement, stating: "That is nine months to be able to plan and get into a position to sign a striker for the club for the long-term. And yet they have ended up desperately doing one on Deadline Day."

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"The boy may do very well. He might come in and settle in, he might score goals and do a job for the club." he continued. "But the fact that the club were in that position, knowing that Sanchez and Lukaku were leaving for many, many months, tells us that Manchester United, at this moment in time, are struggling to navigate through the transfer market smartly."

Since Neville's remarks, the club has continued to make frantic signings on deadline day. This has led to criticism from fans on social media, who believe that the club is signing players out of desperation while missing out on more impactful star players who would have been a better fit for the club if they had acted earlier.

In the summer transfer window 2023, Manchester United made some noteworthy signings on the deadline day. These included Altay Bayindir, Jonny Evans, Sergio Reguilion, and Sofyan Amrabat.

Bayindir, a Turkish goalkeeper from Fenerbahce, was expected to serve as a backup for the first-choice goalkeeper Andre Onana. However, he has yet to make a Premier League appearance for the club. Evans, the veteran defender, has appeared in 12 Premier games this season while starting nine. Regilon has started in four games, and Amrabat has started in seven games.

Manchester United are expected to target goal scorers this transfer window

As the January transfer window has opened, Manchester United finds themselves in the same position, needing more goalscorers and a number of reinforcements This comes after the club elected to take a younger and cheaper Rasmus Hojlund over competing for the signature of elite goalscorer Harry Kane during the last window.

Hojlund joined the club last summer but is still a work-in-progress player and has only scored six goals in all competitions. The team is reportedly interested in signing several players, including Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Thomas Müller from Bayern Munich, Timo Werner from RB Leipzig, and Serhou Guirassy, who is currently in good form and plays for Stuttgart.t.

Sky Sports reported that United will be restricted to loan deals this window under the transitional leadership of Sir James Ratcliffe since investing £1.3 billion into the club. The team is currently eight in the Premier League table and ranks 18th out of 20 teams in goals scored this season.

Rory Robinson