How would you assess our summer signings?

[BusbyMalone]

We're over the halfway point, so in theory, that should be enough time to maybe assess our summer signings. For me, much like many of our signings over the years, it's been a little underwhelming, to say the least.

Sancho has struggled, I think it's fair to say. He's shown glimpses of what he can do, and he's had some decent performances, but the excitement around him when he joined has dissipated somewhat. I still think he will come good... hopefully.

It's a similar story with Varane, really. I don't think he's fulfilled my exceptions. Of course, a lot of that has been down to injuries. He hasn't really had a good run of games. On paper at least, he's our best defender, so hopefully he can stay fit for longer than 5 minutes.

Then you have Ronaldo. A strange one, here. He's got a decent goal return for us, scored some very important ones in the Champions League, and hasn't been bad, per se, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I don't necessarily buy into him being the problem with us at the moment, but I suppose the question should be "Can he be A solution?" To be honest, I don't know. Dare i say it, I'm also a little underwhelmed by his signing. Blasphemy, I know.

 

[RedAlert27]

Sancho - unfortunately complete flop at the moment. Can't seem to even do the basics right. First touch and passing all over the place. Shown 1 or 2 glimpses but overall very disappointing.

Varane - plagued by injuries to really get going but doesn't fill me with confidence when he does play. Doesn't seem to demonstrate any leadership qualities or organise the back line as hoped.

Ronaldo - again disappointing, not the solution. But we should've prioritised a central midfielder over him in the summer. Hopefully all three can turn it around.

 

[ShinjiNinja26]

Shit, Shit and slightly less shit.

 

[The Corinthian]

Sancho - he’s not hit the ground running, but I’m willing to give him a by for 1 season considering a lot of Bundesliga players struggle here, and the fact that players coming over take a year to get up to speed (like many of City’s new buys take a good year to show any consistent form). The worry is Havertz, Werner, are still shockingly shit even with a season under their belt which doesn’t bode well for Sancho. Sancho is young and has joined a turbulent team. I’m hoping he stays positive and we get a progressive manager that can unlock his potential.

Varane - missed a lot of football due to injuries. I’m not convinced but I think he just needs a consistent run of games. He should have cut out the pass across the box the other day, but I think he’ll eventually come good. I want us to play with a higher line as I think it’ll suit him better.

Ronaldo - he’s been what we expect. Someone said that Ronaldo’s goals cover up the issues signing Ronaldo makes. And that sums it up. It sums us up as a club that we shit the bed if one of our ex players threatens to sign for our rival. Shows how far we’ve fallen and how insecure we are.

 

[#07]

The only one who's come close to being a success is Ronaldo, because he single handedly saved our Champions League campaign.

Varane's missed too much football to be considered a success and Sancho's had an anonymous half season.

 

[JB7]

Sancho was signed to play on the right wing and has barely played there, despite his best performances by a distance coming from that position.

Varane has suffered with injuries and the fact he's no longer playing in front of a dominant goalkeeper, exactly the same as almost every defender we've signed over the past god knows how many years. He is clearly the best centre back we have though.

Ronaldo has been our best player and is being the one scapegoated more often than not which is frankly bizarre. He's the only player other than Bruno that seems to want to talk on the pitch and tell players where the need to be at any given moment.

 

[DULLAGHAN]

Sancho - I was very dubious of this signing all along considering the money involved. Our record of signing "World class" attacking players from Germany has been poor with Kagawa and Mkhitaryan. Yes Sancho is English but had zero Premier league experience. So far been what I've expected, but he's still young and has the talent to improve and hopefully develop into a good player.

Varane - When fit he's been decent. Our entire defensive structure and game management is a shambles so it's hard to get a good understanding from him. Don't think he was ever going to be a vocal defensive leader having been the one taking orders from Ramos for a decade. Hopefully under a new management and with midfield reinforcement (I can dream) we'll see the best from him until the end of the season and next year.

Ronaldo - He's come in, scored goals and thrown a few strops. Exactly as expected. The major positive from his will hopefully be in attitude. He's confirmed what we all suspected, that the standards at the club are non existent. If he can use his profile to correct this then that'd better than any goals he can score.

I'm summary, the club is a farcical mess from boardroom down. It's very hard to be to harsh on new signings until be see that corrected and a new management structure sets standards to what they should be. My biggest concern is that no top players will come to us under the current situation, especially if we miss top 4. We're Liverpool in the 90's and it hurts.

 

[youmeletsfly]

It's too early to judge any of them. I mean they came in, had a decent start, then it went to shit, manager was fired and new manager has come in.

 

[bosnian_red]

Sancho - excellent long term signing. He'll be fine. Hopeless cause at United with our situation this season, everyone looks shit so it shouldn't scare people off him. If we ever get our shit together as a club, maybe even next season if we get Ten Hag in, I think Sancho will be at the heart of it and all the stories will be how he needed a year to adapt when in reality he probably just needs the club to not be a disaster.

Varane - same as above I think. He's in a hopeless situation. Have to hope the injuries aren't too recurring, but i don't doubt his quality. At an age where there's plenty of time to be of big use for the club going forward.

Ronaldo - we bought him to be a short term boost and compete for the title, as a club we've collapsed. If we manage to win a trophy with him, then it will have likely been because of him, but at the same time, it's already pretty clear that the signing hasn't worked at all because we've collapsed as a club, and him only being here for the 1-2 years.

 

[Greck]

The kind of name chasing we always moan about when Woodward does it. From the very beginning you could tell Ole had little transfer imagination so it was a bit funny to see it get him sacked eventually. So much for not being backed.

One reason I'd like Ralf to remain is to have an exec with connections and networks across Europe so we're not having to source transfers from football manager.

 

[Shane88]

Sancho, biggest flop in Europe.

Varane, injured most of the time. Not impressive when playing.

Ronaldo, single handedly dragged us through the Champions League group. Underwhelming in the league.

 

[Bastian]

I think Varane has been very good.

 

[RedBanker]

Other than Bruno has any signing of the previous regime earned the right to be called a success?

 

[Zen86]

There’s a good player in Sancho, so I’m confident he’ll come good eventually once we have a bit more stability. Ronaldo is just Ronaldo, I’d say his benefits are flaws have been pretty much as expected.

Varane has probably been the biggest disappointment for me, and those small injuries of his are a definite worry.

 

[Zen86]

Other than Bruno has any signing of the previous regime earned the right to be called a success?

I don’t think you could class many signings in the post-SAF era as a success, really. I certainly struggle to think of any.

 

[Negative Red]

Varane - Has looked steady and assured when he has played. Just a shame he is injury prone.

Sancho - Never thought we needed him in the first place and has been average at best. He does put a shift in though and hasn't played in his preferred position enough. Still have high hopes for Sancho.

Ronaldo - Has scored goals despite not having a great amount of service. We only signed him to prevent him from going to City. Probably prevented us from signing a much needed CDM.

 

[KingCavani]

I don’t think you could class many signings in the post-SAF era as a success, really. I certainly struggle to think of any.

Ibrahimović (first contract) and Bruno are the only two who were definitively good signings.

Some haven't been as bad as others. Shaw and Herrera weren't terrible but still could have been better.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

We are worse this season than last year. So not really had any impact.

Ronaldo been decent in CL, but very poor in the league.

Sancho been awful so far.

Varane been OK, but our overall defending was better last year.

 

[Zen86]

Ibrahimović (first contract) and Bruno are the only two who were definitively good signings.

Some haven't been as bad as others. Shaw and Herrera weren't terrible but still could have been better.

I don’t even think I’d class Ibrahimovic as a successful signing to be honest. He was decent in a pretty grim side, but then injuries kicked in.

 

[JB7]

Varane - Has looked steady and assured when he has played. Just a shame he is injury prone.

Sancho - Never thought we needed him in the first place and has been average at best. He does put a shift in though and hasn't played in his preferred position enough. Still have high hopes for Sancho.

Ronaldo - Has scored goals despite not having a great amount of service. We only signed him to prevent him from going to City. Probably prevented us from signing a much needed CDM.

Don't understand where this bollocks myth comes from. We were done for the window, all the press had clearly been briefed we were done as we weren't even being linked with anyone. And then Ronaldo became available.

 

[Bilbo]

It's a weird one for me. I feel like Sancho & Varane haven't really gotten going yet so I'm not sure what we are assessing right now.

Varane has been mostly good to very good whenever we've seen him. He's had a couple of stinkers but I think those have a lot to do with him adapting to the league and realising that he needs to be 100% fit or he'll get exposed

Sancho has been disappointing but I don't like to judge young players so quickly and I still feel he'll become a monster of a player for us in time

Ronaldo has been a success. Many will (consciously or otherwise) be laying a lot of the teams problems at his feet because there is so much talk about it, and that will affect opinions, but we are playing in the CL knockouts because of him and that alone justifies the outlay IMO

 

[Giggsy13]

Varane - He’s already established himself as our best CB. Injuries have plagued him but manage his minutes and find a better partner than Maguire and Lindelof, and we have one half of our CB pairing set.

Ronaldo- the only real personality and elite player on this squad. Single handedly took us to the knockout stages but league form has been horrid.

Sancho- disappointment so far but only 21 and needs time and patience.

 

[RedBanker]

I don’t think you could class many signings in the post-SAF era as a success, really. I certainly struggle to think of any.

Absolutely. But at least I don't hear inane stuff like "defence is fixed" "great recruitment" "set up the team for the next guy" and all such about the tripe purchased by previous managers.

 

[Lee565]

All round poor.

I am concerned the varane came purely for better wages, he is very injury prone and is not commanding in anyway but it also took dijk a while to get going for liverpool.

I think sancho has been shafted with how he has been used, just give him a good run in the side on the right wing and see what he can do.

Ronaldo - wasn't needed and all the drama really kick started when he joined and it's been a constant circus around him since then and seems to have hurt the balance of the team, Greenwood's development as a striker and also bruno's influence.

 

[Leftback99]

Waste of (a lot of) money.

 

[honirelandboy]

If you have a midfielde four of VDB, Matic, Fred and Scott it's probably the worst midfield four out of any of top 15 teams.

Midfield is so important and won't judge any player we've signed till till that's fixed. Really think just two midfielders short from properly competing. We'll get away with Dalot but would like a right back as well

 

[Ixion]

Imagine if you combined the fees for Sancho + Varane and Ronaldo's wages and spent it on central midfield.

I think it's too early to judge Sancho, I imagine he'll be better next season. Varane is fine, injuries make it difficult to say he's been a success. Ronaldo ultimately has been a success for getting us through in the CL but it was a very short sighted move, I imagine he's gone next season.

 

[::sonny::]

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[charlenefan]

Given the upheaval at the club this season it would be unfair to judge any of the new signings as they haven't had the platform to settle, they've been brought into utter anarchy

 

[Someone]

Happy with Varane, think we made a mistake with Sancho and Ronaldo.

With Sancho I still think he could end up being a great player for us, but in hindsight it's clear that the midfield should've been the ultimate priority, and clearly there wasn't enough money for both Sancho and Midfield reinforcement. I honestly think adding a couple of good midfielders in the summer would've changed our season completely.

With Ronaldo, I love him and I think he can still do a great job, but it seems that he disturbed the balance a bit, and I really don't think he was going to go to City, I think we've been played.

Having said that, I was very happy with Sancho and Ronaldo. It goes to show how little I know about football.

 

[choccy77]

We failed to sign a CM which we desperately needed so the other signings were pointless.

 

[Abraxas]

They have not been great so far.

Sancho there is obviously time for. Still young, struggling to adapt to the team and the league and we have struggled as a unit which has exacerbated his issues. But his ability to just blend into the background is not encouraging, it suggests we're going to need to pull the whole team together so that he can become a useful cog rather than him forging a way through his own ability.

Varane I have been relatively happy with. He hasn't been this rock that we expected given his pedigree. Partly because of injury (which was a known concern...) and also because I think we expected the Maguire partnership to work and he's been in very bad form too. But you can see his quality. Simply has to do better to stay fit.

Ronaldo is very awkward to assess. His goal return seems pretty good. We wouldn't have won certain games without them. But because we didn't really plan for him we don't necessarily have players around him that compensate for his age. In fact we seem to have individuals that really highlight that fact. So we're seeing him struggle in large patches of games, not really holding the ball - he is pretty much a poacher but in a non-functioning team a poacher will look bad.

 

[The Cat]

We aint getting the best out of Sancho until we sort the midfield out he will come good.

Varane will likewise prove a good signing when not overrun.

 

[Bondi77]

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When the u23 side is dominant then they may have a case to do so but I have seen nothing from Shoretire or Menghi to say they are ready for Premier League.....Garner or Laird possibly.

 

[Laurencio]

Well they aren't really all that convincing.

1. SANCHO - One of, if not the best player in the Bundesliga. Currently he is unable to dribble, pass, cross or run. One of the most productive players in the world last season now looks like a lost under 20s player. Whenever he plays he looks scared and shot of confidence. I know there is a player there, but he needs to show up soon. Needs a better midfield so we can allow him to release his creativity.

2. VARANE - Solid when he plays, but he never plays because of injuries. Tries to pass sensibly and always ends up getting the ball passed back by players whose technique isn't good enough. Looks alone in playing from the back at times. Has highlighted how drastic Maguire's decline has been.

3. RONALDO - It all blew up. Call it mentality issues, selfishness, poor management, whatever it is it blew up. On his best he's the best player we have and has single handedly brought us through the Championsleague, but the lack of support and poor interconnectedness with the wings and midfield is really hurting us. He's also too inconsistent especially in the league. He seemingly wants to keep playing for 3-4 more years - but if it keeps going like this I don't think that will be at Manchester United. His return has revealed enormous issues in our squad and there seems to be no effort made to fix that at the moment.

 

[fergiewherearethou]

Very difficult to assess our signings when many players around them regressed so much, football is still a team game.

Ronaldo - Saved us in the CL, basically carried us in the last 16, without him, we would of probably be in the EL. Started like a super star but slowly regressed. He does not get the passes he deserves because we don't create to much, but what worries me is that he started making mistakes uncharacteristic to what he did in his prime. He is regressing due to his age and obviously he is not the same 50 goals per season player.

Sancho - Nothing to show for his price tag, yet. Seems lost and with no confidence. Also his first touch, overall ball skills and passing are nothing close to what we hoped to see. Going from Bundesliga to PL is a step up, defenders are better, faster and much more aggressive. He just can't cope with this at the moment. It was my impression that in the CL he seemed more relaxed and played a little better. The pace and physicality from the PL might not suit him.

Varane - Solid when he played, probably our best defender this season. Pity he was injured most of the time.