mason greenwood playing for manchester united 2021

Reviewing INEOS’ first transfer window at Man United

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Manchester United are horrendous in the transfer market.

This has been a fact since 2013 upon the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson and Chief Executive David Gill. Chaotic strategies, wildly overpaying, slow negotiations, you name it.

The Red Devils had it all.

This developed into a ‘United tax,’ where teams felt they could bully the club in the market.

They were correct.

The club signed Antony for £86m, having valued him at £25m, which says it all. United were hopeless.

‘It’s all Ed Woodward’s fault’, some said, but he left, Richard Arnold and John Murtough were promoted, but nothing changed.

Until now.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS’ 27.5% purchase of the club, has created hope. Could United finally return to its former glories?

Assessing the last transfer window will tell us a lot about how much has really changed.

United’s Signings:

Total incomings – £182.94 million without addons. 206.75m with potential add-ons.

What immediately stands out is the transfer fees. Antony alone cost over a third of that summer.

Zirkzee for £36.54m, is a fantastic bit of business. Signing him just above his £34.4m release clause, so the deal can include more favourable payment terms, is very smart business.

Yoro could be expensive, especially considering his experience, but for a player with his ceiling, that is more than fair value.

De Ligt, while not the player expected of him upon leaving Ajax, is still a superb defender. When Jarrad Branthwaite is valued at £70m and United paid £80m for Harry Maguire, De Ligt for £42.8m is a steal.

Mazraoui could become one of the bargain buys of the summer. A quality versatile fullback for just £17m is tremendous value.

Ugarte is probably the biggest risk. £50.5m isn’t bad value, but it isn’t great either. This especially considering PSG bought him at the same price and are selling him on just a year later. United desperately lack legs in midfield, with Casemiro getting no younger, so Ugarte fits this profile with his ability to cover ground. But his quality on the ball will raise questions marks. He’s not a ‘six’ profile like Rodri or Declan Rice, who can pick the ball off the defence and spray passes. This is exactly why PSG manager Luis Enrique sold him. With Ten Hag playing a style which relies on his midfielder’s ability to take the ball under pressure and play out, this signing is questionable.

Kone will take time to adapt to English football and the Premier League but if he can continue his fine U17’s World Cup form for United and develop into the player he can, he’ll be an exceptional asset in the future. £1m will be a bargain.

United’s Sales:

  • Scott McTominay – £25.7m
  • Mason Greenwood – £23.2m (£26.7m)
  • Aaron Wan-Bissaka – £15m
  • Willy Kambwala – £4.63m (£9.68m)
  • Hannibal – £5.4m (£9.4m)
  • Facundo Pellistri – £5.1m (£6.8m)
  • Alvaro Carreras Fernandez – £5m
  • Donny van de Beek – £423,000 (12.7m)
  • Raphael Varane (free transfer)
  • Omari Forson (free transfer)
  • Jadon Sancho (loan)
  • Anthony Martial (released)
  • Brandon Williams (released)
  • Sofyan Amrabat (end of loan)

Total Sales: £84.573 million without add-ons. £110.98 million with potential addons.

For years United have struggled to sell players. The term ‘deadwood’ will be a word that brings shudders to fans who’ve called for a big clear-out in the club, every single summer. But this never came, with the board unable to offload players due to the huge wages they were signed on to.

Thrown right into the deep end, INEOS have had the same problems, struggling to offload players like Casemiro and Victor Lindelof. This was probably their biggest loss of the window.

The business they have done however, has been very successful.

The sale of Scott McTominay, while a sad one, is a sign of United moving in the right direction. £25.7m upfront is fantastic for Financial Fair Play (FFP) and Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Greenwood was a necessary exit and the inclusion of a sell on clause of around 40-50% is fantastic business.

Despite only selling Wan-Bissaka for £15m, having bought him for £50m, it’s a great deal for United, as it’s allowed Noussair Mazraoui to come the other way.

Kambwala, Hannibal and Fernandez, are all disappointing exits due to the high hopes for them, but probably the right decision. The transfer fees accumulated aren’t high, which is a bit concerning, as they’ve played first team minutes, yet Manchester City can sell any academy player that hasn’t come near the first team for £20m.

Similarly, Pellistri, a regular starter for the Uruguayan national team, was only sold for a maximum of £6.8m. This is worrying. United should really be getting more for a player of his talent.

Van de Beek’s upfront value is horrendous, but hopefully the add-ons will be achieved.

An outright sale of Sancho would’ve been better, but his loan has a potential obligation which is almost guaranteed to be met. It’s achieved if Chelsea finish 14th or higher. While nothings impossible with The Blues, that’s fairly unlikely. £20-25m isn’t amazing, but to get a player who clearly doesn’t want to be at the club, that’s on huge wages and isn’t making the team any better gone, is a good deal.

Then the players released or free transferred were all necessary and massively helps reduce the wage bill.

Previous Negotiations

In the last decade, fans have become accustomed to United taking a long time when dealing with transfers. It can feel like decades from seeing the initial links on social media, to an official announcement of a signing.

United were notorious for their clogged-up hierarchy, which meant any signing had to go through layers of approval.

This meant the club would usually only work on one player at a time, which led to a very slow recruitment process.

Then when in negotiations, United would easily be held to ransom, paying extortionate prices for players clearly not worth that valuation.

Even before the window opened, the recruitment team wouldn’t have a clear enough plan with back-up targets, in case they missed out on their top pick. This led to panic signings. Despite the departure of Woodward and promotion of Arnold and Murtough, this continued. The footballing hierarchy was stronger in the club, but they still fell short because of their unwillingness to let go of players who didn’t want to join the club… (FRENKIE DE JONG).

So, these are huge factors in the success of a transfer window which United were failing at.

But INEOS have come into this mess and completely revolutionised this.

INEOS’ Negotiations

Through hiring elite footballing men like Omar Berrada, Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox, the whole recruitment and negotiation process has changed. The Glazers no longer have any control of the footballing department at the club.

Due to gardening leave and INEOS only officially starting business in February, they didn’t have as much time to prepare for the summer window as normal, but still had a more structured list than before.

Jean-Clair Todibo was a top centre half target, but United couldn’t legally move forward with the deal due to him playing for INEOS owned Nice.

United didn’t panic and had De Ligt as a back-up. A player of the Dutch defender’s pedigree as a second option, is excellent planning.

Similarly, Jarrad Branthwaite was another high priority signing, but Everton’s demands pushed the club away. Yoro, an incredibly highly regarded defender was signed instead. Another example of the positive change in approach. While Yoro might’ve been signed ahead of De Ligt had Todibo or Branthwaite been available, it still shows the quality in planning.

The club was quickly able to acquire Zirzkee and Yoro just three days apart, whilst completing a deal for De Ligt and Mazraoui at the same time. Granted, both latter players were from Bayern Munich, but it was still incredibly efficient.

Negotiations weren’t as fast as some would’ve liked, with Ugarte’s deal dragging on till the last days of the window, but they still got their man.

Then the total £206.75m for six signings of this pedigree, is fantastic value. They held out in negotiations at their price-point and wouldn’t give in to the ‘United tax’.

This is why negotiations took a little longer with De Ligt and Ugarte, as United weren’t willing to overpay. This eventually led to Bayern Munich and PSG caving in and giving the Red Devils what they wanted.

This has set a completely new precedent for United in negotiations that they will not overpay. At last the ‘United tax’ has ended.

So from the planning to the overall signings, INEOS excelled throughout.

Overall

This summer was a 9.5/10.

Very few people would’ve predicted such a good window.

INEOS got their top targets and secured sensational back-up’s if they couldn’t.

They sold a lot of ‘deadwood,’ generating a far better net spend than in recent years.

However, they may have wanted to sell off a few more players and raise a bit more for those they did offload.

But then in negotiations, they were efficient and firm, removing the ‘United tax’.

This was a terrific first window for INEOS and has set the tone for future summers to come.