I think the transfer market is getting tougher every year as more clubs are spreading their scouting net across the world and more players are hiring these so called super agents whose got far more contacts then anyone in football really.
Agree. Agents have growing power and considering how players (and their families) increasingly choose to engage with them. Because they bring more to players, they can ask for more. As we've seen with the case of Raiola and Dortmund, that ends up eating from the clubs' pieces of the pie.
I am particularly concerned about the rise of the so called elite selling clubs ie clubs like Dortmund, Juventus and Spurs who are more then willing to sign players on a realistic minimum release clause solely to make a clean profit later on. That tend to hurt clubs like ours who (rightly so) refuse such terms.
I wouldn't group Dortmund and Juventus on the same level. I see Dortmund and Spurs as a link in the distrubution chain of football talent while Juventus have a different strategy towards player recruitment (occasional superstar purchases, complemented by free transfers and young talent hoarding). As for the former (Dortmund and Spurs) I kind of appreciate their position in the ecosystem. If a player has no release clause, their price is fluid. Because of these clubs' strategy though, they introduce a set price on assets. This may or it may not help an interested club but at least it sets expectations and can aid planning.
The problem with Haaland in case we are interested in any of the future transfer windows, will be Raiola, again. Even if the player and the agent(s) do not push for any release clause, Raiola will surely demand insane agent and sign-on fees that will inflate the total cost of transfer and most likely price us out of the equation (and I don't have a problem with that).
United lags behind most top clubs on this area. We lack a DOF and a head of recruitment which is the norm at most clubs.
I think people need to realize that Ed Woodward is our de facto DOF. His title might be different, he might not have the football experience as most of the popular DOFs but that's reality. And we can only hope he is learning his lessons, expanding his network and getting better.
On a positive note, I think we're moving away from constantly trying to appease the manager and more on thinking for the long term. I am particularly happy of how United conducted their business and I look forward to see the likes of Traore, Pellistri, Laird, Hugill and Mcneill doing well at first team in the short-mid term
Continuing from my previous point, Woodward is showing signs of improvement. We have waited until the end of the window to do our business because we wanted to exploit desperation (which didn't really set in with the exception of Telles and to a lesser extent Cavani in his personal terms) and avoid paying wages for a few weeks.
I'm super happy with the youth recruitment as well and think that we are in for some exciting debuts in the coming months and years!
All in all, a lot to be excited but also a lot of concerns on global sport level.