So the club spent £400M+ on players across 3 transfer windows, except for midfield, where they refused to buy him any player he wanted? Seems legit.
Here's what Louis Van Gaal said about how transfers are done at United. Thought it relevant to this discussion about who chooses the signings... taken from a 2019 Guardian interview.
'What is the problem at Manchester United now?
The problem begins with, of course, that Manchester United was never refreshed. I think when you are a manager you have to refresh every year to keep the team-building process going.
You brought in players. You tried to refresh.
Yes, but I didn’t always get the players that I want. That’s the problem. There is Woodward and his right hand is [head of corporate development] Matt Judge. Judge I met once in a while but not too much. And there was the head of scouting. That was the structure but you are always dependent on Woodward and Judge.
Did they not take your advice?
I thought always Manchester United can buy every player because they have a lot of power. Seemingly a few players were not reachable for Manchester United. I cannot understand but it was like that.
Ángel Di María, was he your choice?
Di María was my choice at AZ, seven years before.'