Manchester United fans will remember the excitement of summer deadline day in summer 2014.
The club swooped for Radamel Falcao out of nowhere, signing a striker who probably was not needed, who had still not got past a serious injury.
It was a move which summed up Ed Woodward’s Manchester United, a desire to chase big names and make a splash, even if it did not make sense.
United’s record in the transfer market since has continued to be hit and miss, and as we enter the January transfer window in 2022, there is one important deal the club must not make.
Avoid Ousmane Dembele
Manchester United’s forward options appear to be thinning. Anthony Martial has been sent on loan along with Amad, while Mason Greenwood has now been suspended.
What do United have to lose by taking Ousmane Dembele on loan from Barcelona? A lot actually.
Sky Sports reported at the weekend that Dembele is expected to leave Barcelona, and that he is expected to move to the Premier League.
Barcelona are keen to get rid of the injury prone winger and this should tell United everything.
Dembele has played only six La Liga games all season and just 87 games since making his £135 million move in 2017.
For United, the risk is too great. Dembele would spend more time on the sidelines injured than he would on the pitch.
This is not a calm and settled United squad which can currently afford to take a risk. This is a team balancing carefully on the precipice of crisis.
Amid poor performance this season, an interim manager holding the fort, and unhappy players leaving the club for the sake of their own careers, United has verged close to a club in meltdown at times this year, and for supporters it has been quite miserable.
It would be one thing to show some planning and make a move for Dembele at the end of the season if he had proved his fitness and was really wanted by a new manager, to join early for pre-season, along with other key positions being filled. It would be quite another to foist him on Ralf Rangnick on transfer deadline day to try and make a splash and distract from some of the bad news. Dembele would more likely end up adding to the chaos and further show the club’s lack of direction, with other positions still unaddressed.
Fortunately we do not expect United to fall hook line and sinker for the Dembele bait Barcelona are offering, although you can never rule it out.
This is a chance for United to show they have changed, with Ed Woodward leaving officially on February 1 and replaced with Richard Arnold. Going for Dembele would indicate more of the same.
Showing some restraint and not chasing a barely-needed winger would be the right move, and United have to be sensible.
Not the priority
Part of the big reason why United must avoid Dembele would because a deal would show how the club’s priorities are all wrong.
All month United have needed a defensive midfielder and simply refused to act. This is despite bargain deals for players like Denis Zakaria and Boubacar Kamara being available.
For the club to ignore these, planning for the summer, is one thing. To ignore them and then go and spend on a winger, would be a catastrophic error of judgement, and would show that the club simply is not serious about improving on the pitch.
Even considering Dembele’s once high price, and that he is now available for practically nothing, this is one deal to steer where clear of.
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