It was an open secret that Manchester United needed to be extremely active in the transfer window but the pace at which Ineos have worked has still been pleasantly surprising.
Furthermore, most of their transfers have been looked at as bonafide wins. Of course, it only becomes clear as the season goes on if those predictions age correctly, but the planning seems clear.
The holes in the squad have been filled with surgical precision, and players who were deemed expendable have been sold as soon as concrete interest developed and fees were to the liking.
Amidst all the drama, and there’s more to come as the window ticks to a close, one particular deal has been termed as a “massive win-win” by former United man Ben Foster.
Ben Foster’s “massive win-win” Man United transfer
Ben Foster was speaking on his podcast, “Fozcast” where he talked about the summer of business at Man United and the potential for such a large overhaul to cause a disruption.
However, he said that amidst all this, there was one transfer that was a “massive win-win” for everyone involved- United, the player, and the buying club.
Foster said it about Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s move to West Ham United, a sale which allowed the club to move for Noussair Mazraoui.
He said: “I think it’s [Wan-Bissak] is a wicked transfer for West Ham. It’s a massive win-win. Man United get £15 million, for West Ham, they’re not breaking the bank. The player himself, he is an exact proper fit.
“He knows he won’t have to go marauding up and down the line. His job will be defensively to stay solid. It’s the right time for him and the right time for Man United [to sell him].”
It was reported repeatedly that United needed to sell Wan-Bissaka to complete the deal for Mazraoui so looking from that lens, United have played a blinder here.
Man United’s blinder
Completely setting aside the on-pitch fit, which is obvious, United have also managed to strengthen their financial position by making a profit on Wan-Bissaka by selling him for £15 million in the last year of his contract.
He was firmly the backup to Dalot, while his discomfort of playing on the left was repeatedly exposed last season as teams pressed him in the time he shifted the ball from his left foot to his right.
The right-back was never very comfortable on the ball anyway, and with United playing two inverted wingers, the need for the fullback to overlap and provide width became pertinent.
Even if the fullback wasn’t overlapping, Ten Hag would sometimes task them with underlapping duties to come into the midfield for numerical superiority.
Wan-Bissaka’s defensive positioning and lack of ball progression skills would hinder him in that role. Ultimately, he was a world-class tackler who shut down many tricky wingers in important games for United.
However, that can’t be the only quality to stay at the club and for United to offload him for a profit and get a player who can cover both wings while being more suited to their style of play is a bonafide win for the executive team.
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