Manchester United are still hoping to do deals for Jadon Sancho and Alex Telles before the transfer deadline, Forbes report.
Getting both moves done would represent a level of success at this late stage, in addition to an already completed move for Donny van de Beek.
And on the face of it, moves Van de Beek, Telles, and Sancho would represent good business, we certainly would have taken it before the window opened.
But the way Manchester United have gone about this leaves a lot to be desired.
Once again, United’s methods in the transfer window have left the club open to major criticism.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has, as it stands, not been backed properly and the manager has gone into the season unprepared.
Even if United get the players in before the deadline, United failed to get them before the season started, and Solskjaer has not had the time to work with them as he should have.
This botched approach has already contributed to an early loss of three points, with United’s opening day defeat to Crystal Palace.
If United had landed Sancho early, by Dortmund’s imposed deadline of August 10, then the following two months could have been spent working on Van de Beek and defensive improvements.
Instead there will not be a new centre-back arriving, and we will be fortunate to get an additional left-back.
No lessons learned from Fernandes
The positivity from Bruno Fernandes’ arrival overshadowed what was a farce of a transfer window in January.
He signed one day before the deadline. If he had signed on January 1, Fernandes would have been available to play in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
United lost by a single goal to City on aggregate, and the chance of silverware went out the window. If United put success over finances, Fernandes would have been in early.
He would even have been at the club last summer, rather than the club hesitate and wait until the end of January.
Had United signed Fernandes last summer, a top four place would have been assured long before July, and there would have been no need for rotation in the FA Cup semi-final to concentrate on the league.
We had hoped Ed Woodward might have learned from this, but he has not changed in seven years, so why now?
Woodward has left Solskjaer entering the season not knowing the make up of his squad, when the manager pleaded publicly for new arrivals. He has just one so far.
Even if United get the two we are looking at, don’t get swept away in the hype and react as though Ed Woodward has done a good job.
All he will have done is met expectations, and negatively impacted the team by dragging it out.
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