Manchester United are one of the world’s biggest football clubs and as a result, often ends up linked with players that the club have no intention of signing.
When familiar with the transfer window and the business Manchester United do, often it is clear when a player is linked for legitimate reasons or not.
It happens less under Ineos, with the recruitment widely seen as improved since the days of Ed Woodward. Sir Jim Ratcliffe said Woodward didn’t understand football, and it showed every transfer window, as United were linked with every name under the sun and made some pretty awful signings.
You only have to cast your mind back to the relentless links with Nicolas Gaitan and Ezequiel Garay others who were linked summer after summer with the club having little intention of signing them.
Another name who has been linked numerous times over the years, despite a lack of suitability for United and the Premier League is Thomas Muller.
How Thomas Muller reacted to questions over Manchester United move
Currently 35 years old, Muller is set to depart Bayern Munich. However, despite Muller being a long term United target, his future does not point towards Old Trafford.
Muller is currently at the Club World Cup in the USA and has sat down for an interview with CBS Sports and Kate Abdo to discuss all things football.
While talking about his future, Abdo raised Manchester United as a name, asking whether he’s interested in a move to Manchester.
“Many times (they have) or do you mean now?”, Muller asked before giving a crystal clear response.
“Now No no no. I’m not the right guy for them & they are not the right club for me. They want to have fun & I want to have fun so that’s not a match.”
This answer won’t trouble United, with there being virtually zero chance that Ineos would want to bring in an expensive 35-year-old who lacks the physicality at this point in his career to play in the Premier League.
However, there was a time when Muller would have been an interesting signing.
Louis van Gaal wanted to sign Thomas Muller in 2015
Muller was one of football’s most underrated players for years, but one manager who knew his ability was Louis van Gaal.
The Dutchman worked with Muller between 2009 and 2011 at Bayern Munich, so when he joined United he eyed a swoop to bring him in.
Van Gaal admitted this as quoted by talkSPORT: “I tried to bring Muller to Manchester both in the 2014/2015 season and in the 2015/2016 season. In 2015 it would have been possible if his wife had been a little more open to a transfer abroad.
“At least that was the reason Thomas gave my assistant Marcel Bout, who had had all the conversations with him, why the transfer had been rejected.”
It had been suggested that Muller would have cost £80m or more at the time, which would have been a massive signing, however in many ways it is lucky his wife refused because it is not a move we imagine would have been a success.
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