Man Utd will be tested on their biggest transfer market weakness by Dan Gore, no excuses now

The transfer market howlers by Man Utd are firmly in the spotlight this season after a poor start to the season, but their biggest weakness will be tested by Dan Gore.

Dan Gore’s move to Luton Town on loan was hardly the most high-profile exit from Man Utd this summer, but it will end up being the most symptomatic of the club’s issues.

After a sparkling loan spell at Rotherham last season, Gore wasn’t given a chance in the first team at Old Trafford, but the club didn’t give up on him either.

He signed a contract until 2028 and went on loan to Luton Town. Just a month into the season, it’s clear that he will ask the club a difficult question next summer.

Dan Gore will test Man Utd’s ability to sell

United sold many youth players this summer, and Radek Vitek was the most lucrative among them. His fee could reach almost £14m, but for a player who was Bristol City’s best player last season, that’s still low.

Toby Collyer was even worse, and let’s not even talk about the club’s asking price for Harry Amass, which stood at just £6m.

Clearly, United struggle to sell players even when they are in top form (Vitek), or are English and proven at Man Utd to an extent (Collyer).

The excuse for Vitek is that he’s not English, while the excuse for Collyer was his injury-prone history, making him a risky bet for any buyer.

Neither of those things is true anymore for Dan Gore. The youngster is English, fits the perfect modern midfielder profile, has plenty of first-team football experience under his belt and has put his injury troubles firmly behind him.

The 2024/25 season was the last difficult season for him, and the sample size is big enough now to say with certainty that he has overcome his past with injuries.

He has been the first name on the teamsheet for Luton Town this season, albeit in League One, but as an English midfielder playing regularly, United should easily demand at least four or five million for him.

The minimum should be comparable to the fee they received for Collyer, not because that was lucrative, but because that was mind-blowingly cheap.

Gore’s lack of experience beyond the third division will hurt the potential fee they get, but he’s as proven as they come in the third division.

An elite Championship team could easily take a punt on him because his playing style will translate well to higher levels of football, where his combativeness will come secondary to talent on the ball.

Either way, United simply can’t afford to drop the ball with Gore and sell him for a million or two. Otherwise, there was no point in signing him to an extension before his loan this season.

United could have earned that much this summer as well. If anything, his sparkling loan at Rotherham had United in an even better position to negotiate.