The Manchester United tax is a frustrating phenomenon, but the club have beaten it once by crashing talks for a player in 2022, and now they need to do it again for their most important signing of the window.
The transfer window at Old Trafford will gain momentum once the deal for Bryan Mbeumo is confirmed, as he will follow Matheus Cunha to Man Utd.
However, after that, United’s financial situation means they will have to finance their transfers with sales.
That is worrying because the most important signing of the window, a striker, is yet to be made, but their Premier League rivals may have given them an opportunity to repeat their moves from 2022.
Man Utd must enter Thierno Barry talks
United have already been bitten multiple times in their search for a striker this summer.
What started as a straightforward priority move for Liam Delap has snowballed into multiple rejections, sky-high asking prices, and a pivot to getting goalscoring midfielders.
Delap rejected United for Chelsea, Gyokeres seems to be offering himself to any and every club that plays Champions League football, Hugo Ekitike has the Frankfurt striker curse, let alone that €100m price tag, while Victor Osimhen can’t decide whose paycheck he should cash in.
The need of the hour for United is to expand their search and be creative, which is where Villarreal’s 6’5″ giant Thierno Barry enters the picture.
The Athletic report that Everton are in talks with Villarreal for Barry, who scored 11 league goals last summer in his first season in Spain.
It follows a 20-goal season for Basel, speaking of a player who, at 22, continues to go from strength to strength.
It’s being reported that a bid in the region of £25.5m will tempt Villarreal to cash in, below his release clause of £34.1m.
Not only is he available on the cheap, relative to other strikers on the market, but he also fits the profile of an ideal Ruben Amorim striker.
He’s physical, is deceptively quick, has top-five league experience, and fits the Ineos philosophy, which made Delap their top target.
Most importantly, Everton might be doing United’s work for them if they fancy it, much like what happened in 2022 with a transfer.
Man Utd have been here before with Tyrell Malacia in 2022
United have beaten the “United tax” phenomenon before with some creative moves in the market with Tyrell Malacia in 2022.
The chances are that if United went in for Barry on their own, Villarreal would direct them straight to the release clause and not budge.
That is the stance Feyenoord were taking with Malacia in 2022, slapping a big asking price for the player, which prompted United to walk away.
Things changed when Lyon entered talks, and they were given an asking price of just around £13m. Swiftly, United crashed those negotiations as soon as Lyon’s offer was accepted by matching that offer.
United’s pull did the rest as Lyon were gazumped to Malacia’s signature, while Feyenoord were in no position to demand more from United since they had already accepted an offer of that value from Lyon.
That was one of the few smart deals United did under the Glazer regime. Ineos can take inspiration from it and gatecrash Everton’s talks for Barry.
It sorts their most important signing with an exciting player on the cheap, who’s perfect for the system.
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