It was not just Manchester United supporters left wincing amid reports clubs have dropped interest in ‘for sale’ players.
The reports which suggested that – after Fulham seemingly decided against returning with a new bid for Scott McTominay – a deal to remove Aaron Wan-Bissaka from the Red Devils wage bill had also hit the buffers.
West Ham have been in talks with the long-serving Manchester United right-back throughout August.
But while there is still some confidence that an agreement can finally be reached, Wan-Bissaka’s contract situation at Old Trafford continues to hold up the proposed £18 million deal.
That is a problem for Man United. That is a problem for West Ham. It is also a problem for Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich boost Manchester United hopes
While Man United must sell to buy in the final month of the window, the same applies to the German giants.
And if United cannot get Wan-Bissaka out the door, they may not be able to bring in Noussair Mazraoui to take his place.
As a consequence, should Mazraoui and fellow Man United target Matthijs de Ligt see their dream moves to England’s north west fall flat, Bayern may be in for similar frustration with regards to their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen stopper Jonathan Tah and Rennes winger Desire Doue.
Uli Hoeness, club legend and currently a board member at the Allianz Arena, opened up on the precarious position Bayern Munich are facing with four separate transfer deals all hanging in the balance.
“(Directors) Max Eberl and Christoph Freund know full well that no one will come if one or two prominent players do not leave,” the 72-year-old told Sky Germany.
“There is a resolution from the supervisory board that says; ‘We have spent 125 million (euros). And if new players come after that, we must first sell’.
“I communicated that. And it is not my final word, but the final word of the supervisory board as a whole.”
Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt still up for sale
The good news, from a Man United perspective, is that Bayern clearly need to get Mazraoui and De Ligt out the door. The sooner, the better.
And while the double bid United submitted last Friday fell short of Bayern’s £55 million demands, per ESPN, Hoeness’ comments certainly do not paint the picture of a club negotiating from a position of strength.
If or when the Red Devils come knocking on Bayern’s door again, expect Dan Ashworth, Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell to arrive having memorised every word of Hoeness’ plea to Eberl and Freund.
Fabrizio Romano, meanwhile, told GiveMeSport on Wednesday that confidence was growing regarding their combined pursuit of two defenders who played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax.
Then again, that was before the latest fork was placed in Wan-Bissaka’s road to West Ham.
“The negotiation is ongoing between Manchester United and Bayern,” Romano said. “They already had a bid rejected, but they are increasingly confident because they have an agreement with both players, for a five-year contract plus option for both of them.
“(Both Mazraoui and De Ligt) they absolutely want to join Manchester United.
“De Ligt has been waiting since June, and Mazraoui’s agreement was reached in July. So both players are giving total priority to Manchester United.”
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