Geographically, Manchester United and Manchester City are separated by just 4.3 miles.
When it comes to recruitment and squad building, however, the two clubs are a million miles apart. Not for the first time in the past decade, United are being left behind by their cross-city rivals, suffering as a result of mismanagement and poor strategic planning by those who sit at the top table.
With just a week of the summer transfer window remaining, United, despite already splashing out north of £150million on three new faces so far this summer, are still in desperate need of strengthening their squad further. They, in an ideal world, need a backup goalkeeper and a defensive midfielder at the very least.
United have gradually changed the landscape of Erik ten Hag’s first-choice starting XI over the past 12 months with new additions, but the squad is still riddled with deadwood that is unlikely to figure in the Dutchman’s long-term plans to take the club forward. The Reds have managed to chop out some of the deadwood this summer, but too much of it is still in place.
The Reds have said farewell to a series of fringe players who were either never likely to make the grade under Ten Hag or were past the sell-by date this summer, such as the likes of Nathan Bishop, Ethan Laird, Alex Telles, Zidane Iqbal and Fred. They each, in the grand scheme of things, attracted fairly low fees that will not prove game-changing for a club of United’s stature.
Those who would command significantly higher fees, however, have not been shifted with just a week to go until the shutters on the summer window come down. Dean Henderson, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek are all still on the books, as is Eric Bailly, though he would not command a fee as enticing as the aforementioned quartet.
United agreed to sell Maguire to West Ham United earlier this month for a fee understood to be in the region of £30m, only for it to stall after the centre-back, who was stripped of the captaincy earlier this summer, refused to accept a £6m pay-off. He was said to be after between £10m-£15m as his salary would have been reduced in east London.
Though strictly speaking that was not United’s fault, they have let themselves down in other areas, not least in rejecting a £30m offer from the Hammers for McTominay. Considering the Scot is never likely to be a regular starter for the Reds again, certainly not when everyone is fit and available, United passed up on a golden opportunity to cash in and reinvest the fee in a defensive midfielder who could have made a significant difference.
Sofyan Amrabat is continuing to be linked with a move to Old Trafford and figures coming out of Italy have suggested that Fiorentina would be willing to accept less than £30m to let the Moroccan leave. He is out of contract next summer.
Now, with just a week to go until the bell sounds, it remains to be seen if either Maguire or McTominay will depart, meaning United have potentially missed out on an enterprising windfall of £60m. Generating such a significant sum could have, or indeed still could, go a long way to strengthening the squad further ahead of the deadline.
Furthermore, talk of United handing out a one-year deal to Jonny Evans further highlights where the club has gone wrong in recent years. They are continuing to be reactive, as opposed to being proactive and putting a long-term vision in place, should Maguire seal an exit.
Four miles down the road at City, however, the situation could not be more contrasting. The Blues sanctioned the sale of Aymeric Laporte for £23.5m yesterday – a respectable fee for a player who will turn 30 just as this current season ends.
City reacted to his anticipated departure earlier this summer, drafting in Josko Gvardiol, who is eight years younger, from RB Leipzig. Granted, City invested £77.5m in the Croatian, but they have acquired a player who they could get the best part of a decade’s service out of.
City have been ahead of the curve when it has come to the art of squad building and transferring players in and out at the right time in recent years. Their record speaks for itself, and they regularly hit rather than miss.
The same cannot be said for United, whose recruitment failings were frequently lambasted during Ralf Rangnick’s short reign. City have exposed United’s biggest weakness again.
