Manchester United ended deadline day without a new left-back, but what they did with Louis Page is even more embarrassing. The priorities for Man Utd ...
**Manchester United ended deadline day without a new left-back, but what they did with Louis Page is even more embarrassing. **
The priorities for Man Utd coming into deadline day were clear, as a backup striker and a left-back were needed, especially if Joshua Zirkzee left.
Zirkzee didn’t leave, and a left-back didn’t arrive, but they were close to a deal for Louis Page of Leicester.
To sum up the malaise, even that didn’t happen, when all was said and done, their approach to that deal was the most embarrassing part of deadline day.
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The deal for Page didn’t come out of nowhere, as United had been linked with him weeks before deadline day.
Page even gave priority to United amid interest from Arsenal, so Ineos didn’t even have to worry about his commitment to joining.
Somehow, that deal got dragged to deadline day, and with bigger priorities to address, Page became the unwanted main attraction.
As if that weren’t enough, United couldn’t even get that deal past the finish line, and why that happened is not worthy of a club like United.
Reportedly, Leicester wanted £12m + £3m, while United offered £10m, eventually leading to an impasse on deadline day.
There are a couple of things indefensible about that approach.
Firstly, if United had been “working” on this deal for the last three weeks, why did this asking price and their upper limit only come to light on deadline day?
Secondly, if Page is the generational talent they seem to think he is, wouldn’t it be smart to pay a couple of million more right now to save themselves from being quoted £70m by a Brighton or Brentford in a few years’ time?
It’s not the first time something like this has happened either, as they negotiated for Mateus Fernandes without confirming if he wanted to join, and then acted shocked when he joined Spurs, wasting a month.
It’s all fine and professional to set parameters for a deal and not go beyond them, but why is it taking weeks to know the actual asking price of the selling club?
It’s just embarrassing.
The midfield rebuild deserves some credit, and nobody is acting like Louis Page was the difference between failure and success this season.
Having said that, it is remarkable that Ineos have effectively added one player to the squad from last season which played just 40 games.
Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro are out, and three midfielders have replaced them, so with the prospect of an additional ten games, at the very least, United’s squad is one player deeper.
Bafflingly, this is after Michael Carrick miraculously achieved Champions League football, so who knows what Ineos would have done had he not done that.
Maybe, just like the Glazers, they would have spent more without UCL, aiming to get back into it.
It’s just plain embarrassing. If Carrick goes on to have a good season, it will be despite Ineos’ best efforts, not because of them.
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