Manchester United and Liverpool are experiencing very different summers in the transfer market.
Remember when Liverpool were held up as the beacon of how to run a football club and Manchester United could not get a single decision right?
Times are changing. Since the arrival of Ineos, Manchester United have assembled a team of the sharpest minds in football, bringing in Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth, Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell, to mesh with the knowledge and innovation of Sir Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc.
This has led to an unusually calm and measured transfer window. United were not suckered in by Everton’s high demands for Jarrad Branthwaite, and have signed two centre-backs for £90 million (Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt) for just £20 million more than the price the Toffees were seeking.
- READ MORE: Manchester United confirmed signings, transfers in, out, loan exits, releases for 2024/25
Manchester United transfer success
Manchester United are set to complete the club’s third and fourth signings of the summer with moves for Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt.
They follow Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee, who both left clubs in the Champions League to sign with Manchester United, Lille and Bologna.
Mazraoui and De Ligt quit Bayern Munich to reunite with Erik ten Hag at United, undeterred by the temporary setback of playing Europa League football.
The attraction of signing for United is unrivalled, emphasised by the quadruple signing of Yoro, Zirkzee, Mazraoui and De Ligt.
All four players have made sacrifices to sign for United, while rivals Liverpool struggle.
Liverpool have failed to sign a single player this summer, and have been rejected by Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, BBC Sport report.
They do have Champions League football to offer, and yet have been unable to get any deals done.
United’s success in the market this summer underlines Liverpool’s failure this summer. The Mail had even reported Leny Yoro was their ‘prime target’, before United sealed the deal.
Liverpool’s David Moyes summer
Liverpool supporters will not want to admit it, but there are some uneasy parallels emerging with their summer of 2024, and Manchester United’s awful 2013.
Arne Slot is filling the David Moyes role, a boss some feel may be taking on a job too big, stepping into big shows.
Moyes was let down by United’s incompetence in the market, signing only Marouane Fellaini, and it looks like Arne Slot is suffering a similar fate.
United have finally moved forward, it’s taken a while, whereas Liverpool will be hoping they can still salvage what is left of the transfer window.
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