Manchester United could be about to make a fatal error with Harry Amass, but it could be acceptable under one circumstance.
To put it mildly, selling Harry Amass this summer for £6m would be a fatal error for Manchester United.
I have been really impressed by Amass’ form during pre-season. He has outperformed Luke Shaw and shown himself to be a better fit into the profile Michael Carrick wants simply due to his ability to overlap.
Amass’ quality and athleticism going forward saw him score and assist against Rosenborg, showing the threat a mobile left-back can have in Carrick’s system.
Many fans, including myself, were beginning to believe Amass was ready and could challenge Shaw for the starting berth this coming season. Yet Ineos clearly doesn’t agree, which is hard to believe.
What is YOUR reaction to Man United’s £6m valuation of Harry Amass?
According to The Athletic, Man United are ready to sell Harry Amass this summer for as little as £6 million!
Manchester United need to take page from Manchester City’s playbook
This summer, United needed a player who could take the game burden from Shaw and also a probable future successor, which has long been assumed to be Amass.
But this week has now seen the bombshell that United are open to letting Amass leave permanently, which I can’t see as anything other than a self-destructive decision, which, quite frankly, doesn’t make any sense.
Selling a player with elite potential, in a position United needs, who will cost nothing, and especially for just £6m, is ludicrous and not a move that a proper functioning top club would make.
It is the kind of move Chelsea would make, which isn’t a good thing.
However, there is one circumstance in which I can agree with the sale. That being said, if Ineos were planning to put a hefty sell-on clause combined with a buy-back or a first-option to re-sign Amass.
This is a move Real Madrid and Manchester City often do, in what is effectively a longer-term loan with the idea that he will return one day if his development goes as planned.
United’s recruitment team is packed with former City chiefs, so it makes sense they may try to implement this at Old Trafford.
I wouldn’t say it’s the right call, because Amass is exactly what United needs behind Shaw this coming season, but it would be logical. But selling for £6m and washing hands of Amass would be a big mistake, which would end up equally as tough to take as the Alvaro Carreras loss, as he ended up at Real Madrid.
Hopefully, Amass’ pre-season can change the club’s mind, but if not, Ineos needs to be smart enough not to sell him straight up because he will be a star.
Losing one of the club’s top academy talents shouldn’t be in the plan book for Ineos. But I will accept it if the plan is to re-sign him long-term – especially if another transfer is in the pipeline.
If you could only choose one, should Man Utd buy Lewis Hall or promote Harry Amass?
Signing Lewis Hall makes Amass sale acceptable
In an ideal world, Amass would stay and get the chances this coming season to prove he belongs at United and to replace Shaw in the long term. But one reason selling Amass – under the right conditions and not for £6m – would be sensible is if he isn’t likely to play an awful lot.
All summer, there has been a quiet indication that United could sign Lewis Hall from Newcastle, despite how expensive he could prove to be. While I don’t think he’s really that much of an upgrade on what Amass could end up being as a player, if United are going for immediate success, then it does make sense.
Hall would be an addition that United could win the Premier League with next season, long-term. Losing Amass for a player very similar and £70m more expensive feels very short-termist.
I believe Amass will end up as good, if not better than Hall, so hopefully, United knows what they are doing here. It doesn’t seem like they do.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
