Most of our best signings have been tier 2 or 3 players. We usually don't have a good track record of superstar signings especially since Fergie left. Give me a Dorgu or Lemmens anyday over a Sancho or Alexis.
Wot, no transfers? (2026)
- Thread starter Bastian
- Start date
You are assuming the expensive players are better.
Would you be happy with Lewis Skelly over Hall then? That's let's say one of the options apparently now.
Unless we sell someone I think we are done. The money / ambition does not seem to be there from Ineos
Absolutely. Both young English talents. Hall is better now but he's also a bit older. I'd be happy with either.
That's an issue with the targets, not with "signing superstars".
38m net spend after getting an absolute miracle from their interim manager when the previous hire toiled for 12 months.
Sometimes I don't have the energy to be mad anymore.
Sometimes I don't have the energy to be mad anymore.
I'd be very surprised if that's the case.
Yet you'll have many coming on here defending the club. Can't imagine they're season ticket holders mind. Ticket prices and commercial revenues continue to go up and up while the club continues to plead poverty.
I expect the net spend will end up quite a bit bigger than that, but ultimately, how much debt to you want to pile on the club in exchange for new players, because that's how we're going to be funding any further acquisitions?
The squad is obviously thin and not currently in great shape for a top 4 finish, but we are also in a position of having to borrow money if we want to buy anyone, which naturally means we'll want to be pretty conservative with the spending.
Do we know what sort of budget we even have left? There’s been reports recently that we would have to sell to afford the likes of Scott, so perhaps we are also limited now by our finances?
Our signings so far scream low cost options, and I’m not sure we’d have looked at either if we could have afforded otherwise. Also the way we have walked away from any deal that has reached £80m+ says that we don’t have the money. I don’t believe you turn down your number one target and go for target number five just to save money. That’s not how you bridge the gap with the top teams. Especially when one of your signings was a cheap buy out of a player who missed half a season with injuries.
I said it early on after we walked away from one or two of our first targets, but I think we’ve misjudged the market completely this summer, or just approached it out of sheer hope.
Our signings so far scream low cost options, and I’m not sure we’d have looked at either if we could have afforded otherwise. Also the way we have walked away from any deal that has reached £80m+ says that we don’t have the money. I don’t believe you turn down your number one target and go for target number five just to save money. That’s not how you bridge the gap with the top teams. Especially when one of your signings was a cheap buy out of a player who missed half a season with injuries.
I said it early on after we walked away from one or two of our first targets, but I think we’ve misjudged the market completely this summer, or just approached it out of sheer hope.
Only way debt stops is when we ever get a full sale
We are in much better shape financially than we were last summer though. I don't believe this "we don't have any money" nonsense, not with UCL qualification/sales/more wages off the books. It feels far more like a lack of decisiveness coupled with an absolutely useless head of negotiations in Hargreaves who can't buy anyone for less than asking and can't sell any fringe players for anything more than a bag of chips.
The problem with the "we have no money" argument is on what basis is that claim being made? Show me the hard numbers? We're in the champions league next season, ticket prices have gone up, shed loads of cuts have been made in the organisation as a whole. I appreciate we have debt interest issues but to claim our finances are in complete disarray - show me the hard data and I'll believe it. We're acting like we're Bournemouth. I also accept we did some really poor business in recent years but none of them were absolutely massive transfer fees - bar perhaps Antony which was an absolute joke I'll concede. The problem with all of these conversations is it seems to be too complicated a picture for any journalist to accurately report on - given United is a publicly listed company, I can only assume nearly all of this info is in the public domain in some form or other? Or not?
3 weeks to find out I guess
I got giddy with the 'value' we got in Tielesmans deal which has masked quite a bit, but now I'm thinking that deal was easy to pull off because it was a release clause. Chelsea didn't want Santos and needed a sale, so that deal was easy to do.
Where's the ambitious deals? I don't care for top signings but I expected we'd get in a deal that's hard to pull off but we got it done type signing by now
Still time to go, but feck me it's been poor so far
Where's the ambitious deals? I don't care for top signings but I expected we'd get in a deal that's hard to pull off but we got it done type signing by now
Still time to go, but feck me it's been poor so far
Revenues from UCL participation won't have been received because we haven't actually started the tournament yet. Salaries for the existing squad will all have been bumped up by 25%, though.
Last summer's spree was paid for through borrowing on the RCF (increasing the club's indebtedness).
But its money we can account for/know will be coming in - thus we can spend it now.
I don't think INEOS are capable of an ambitious transfer, they rely on the player doing the heavy lifting with his commitment 'I only want United' or a release clause
I was hoping for at least some scouting based transfers in the ilk of Lammens or Dorgu
Happy with our signings, although I don't think it's enough. The way the squad looks right now they'll struggle if they play 60 games. Fitness and rotation are key. Left back and a third midfielder are still a must. If they can sort that out, I'm more confident we'll finish high in all competitions. Up front we look alright with Rashford included and Dorgu back, lots of options.
I know there is plenty of time left and it's a WC year but you'll only pay more the closer to the start of the season you get. Hope they still have a surprise up their sleeve.
I know there is plenty of time left and it's a WC year but you'll only pay more the closer to the start of the season you get. Hope they still have a surprise up their sleeve.
You've just made that up. I did not comment on the quality of the players signed.
I said that logically, if you avoid expensive signings and sign cheaper ones, you should at least be able to get the quantity of players you need. Unless we're legitimately skint.
I am a little worried but if they are taking their time and bring in two more like Santos/Tielemans before the end of the window, then they will have played an absolute blinder in this market.
Santos is a player with just as much potential as Fernandes and we paid half of it, as well as half the wage, and Tielemans is nothing for a player of his quality.
If they are being tactical and waiting for opportunities on similar players and pull it off, it will have been masterful in light of what other clubs are spending.
I would rather careful hands than reckless ones. They need to do a couple more, but if they were to get a Skelly and an experienced striker before the window shuts, I would be satisfied. It would be several steps forward and put us in great position ahead of next summer.
Santos is a player with just as much potential as Fernandes and we paid half of it, as well as half the wage, and Tielemans is nothing for a player of his quality.
If they are being tactical and waiting for opportunities on similar players and pull it off, it will have been masterful in light of what other clubs are spending.
I would rather careful hands than reckless ones. They need to do a couple more, but if they were to get a Skelly and an experienced striker before the window shuts, I would be satisfied. It would be several steps forward and put us in great position ahead of next summer.
I think it's really really boring as a fan but I think under the circumstances given our financial constraints I think we are playing a blinder in the market this summer.
We look so much more agile and adaptive and sensible in the market. At the start of the summer the whole football financial pyramid would have been looking at us thinking these guys are going to say one thing and ultimately be reckless as hell in this rebuild and pay whatever it takes, they need x amount of players, their fans will be going mental. But this is how you do it.
It seems to me like it's way more statistically driven than ever before. Finally walking away from deals we feel are bad value. Signing similar profiles for much less money. The press not having a clue who we are really looking at. We aren't going to get caught spending 80 million quid on Antony again or giving Rashford or Sancho 300k per week. Hanging onto young players till their value tanks etc
It might not feel like it right now but that's genuine progress. It's slow going but this is what needed to be corrected most of all. If we'd gone out and signed Anderson Fernandes and Vinicius would we win the league? Possibly but we are a billion quid in debt already and our highest league finish in 13 years is second.
Something isn't working even though we've been spending as much as anybody else on transfer fees, agent fees and wages. We've been getting totally ripped off more than any other club in the sport
We look so much more agile and adaptive and sensible in the market. At the start of the summer the whole football financial pyramid would have been looking at us thinking these guys are going to say one thing and ultimately be reckless as hell in this rebuild and pay whatever it takes, they need x amount of players, their fans will be going mental. But this is how you do it.
It seems to me like it's way more statistically driven than ever before. Finally walking away from deals we feel are bad value. Signing similar profiles for much less money. The press not having a clue who we are really looking at. We aren't going to get caught spending 80 million quid on Antony again or giving Rashford or Sancho 300k per week. Hanging onto young players till their value tanks etc
It might not feel like it right now but that's genuine progress. It's slow going but this is what needed to be corrected most of all. If we'd gone out and signed Anderson Fernandes and Vinicius would we win the league? Possibly but we are a billion quid in debt already and our highest league finish in 13 years is second.
Something isn't working even though we've been spending as much as anybody else on transfer fees, agent fees and wages. We've been getting totally ripped off more than any other club in the sport
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The RCF is lower now than it was last summer, we just paid off £110 million of it. It was £160 million last summer, £150 million going into this summer. With extended headroom if we did want to utilise it.
Your first point is just meaningless, that revenue is confirmed it doesn't matter exactly when the cashflow happens. We don't store the pennies in a big piggy bank and only spend when it's full, we use an RCF like any well managed club.
What are we playing at? I’m not usually one to start kicking and screaming over transfer and maybe our worries will all be proven wrong but it does look troubling.
We have a good side but not good to the extent that CL next season is a guarantee. We have some obvious holes that you’d think are impossible to ignore but the silence around the club almost seems like confirmation that we are happy if this is all the business we do.
We have a good side but not good to the extent that CL next season is a guarantee. We have some obvious holes that you’d think are impossible to ignore but the silence around the club almost seems like confirmation that we are happy if this is all the business we do.
We are going to sign more players, I don’t understand all the hysteria that our window is over.
The club isn’t going to spend a fortune and I think when the window shuts it will likely be viewed as underwhelming overall but there is plenty of time left.
The club isn’t going to spend a fortune and I think when the window shuts it will likely be viewed as underwhelming overall but there is plenty of time left.
It would be a concern as they play different positions
I think the truth is that no one in the press knows what’s going on.
I’m getting annoyed like most fans but let’s say that Inoes do have a plan. We pulled out of Ederson yet the club refused to admit that and speculation is that we might go back in.
It’s been reported Manu Kone is all wrapped up. Utd just need to
Trigger it.
So what’s actually going on? Is there the thought that they’d rather have Tchouameni?
Are the club trying to do that deal first? Are we trying to get Rashford out so we can buy Thiago?
There’s a lot of dominoes that could be coming together or it could just be there’s no more coming in.
I’m getting annoyed like most fans but let’s say that Inoes do have a plan. We pulled out of Ederson yet the club refused to admit that and speculation is that we might go back in.
It’s been reported Manu Kone is all wrapped up. Utd just need to
Trigger it.
So what’s actually going on? Is there the thought that they’d rather have Tchouameni?
Are the club trying to do that deal first? Are we trying to get Rashford out so we can buy Thiago?
There’s a lot of dominoes that could be coming together or it could just be there’s no more coming in.
Do you have to spend everything u can?
It’s very dull, but I completely agree. We need dull. We need to be quietly competent. We can’t shed the reputation of the previous decade of utter nonsense overnight. Im glad we’ve walked away from deals. Glad we’re doing deals out of the blue.
For what it’s worth, I think it’s only this week that the entire market has started to heat up. Between the World Cup and market inflation (thanks Chelsea and Spurs) it’s been pretty quiet out there, but it’ll get busier now. We absolutely had to have 2 midfielders through the door ahead of the opening game, which we’ve done. A new left back, third midfielder or a forward? Not so much. We have Shaw, 3 midfielders and enough forwards to take us into September. There’s no panic or rush to do those deals.
I fully expect a left back and a forward player of some sort to arrive (I’d like Endrick on a loan to buy, because it’d be exciting and be nice to pull that shite on someone else) pending Zirkzee going (and probably Rashford too). I think a third midfielder has been scuppered by the Ugarte injury and we’ll have to make do and mend with Mount and kids as a fourth midfielder, but that’s just bad luck.
Corporate structures don't have people kicking each other on a patch of grass.
You need luck in football.
I reckon we will sign Hall if we can negotiate the right price with Newcastle (not £60m+) and will look for a bargain bin older striker (could be a loan). If we can’t get Hall at the right price or find the right player to support/back up Sesko, we are probably done.
I just don't see the evidence that we are actually interested in Hall. Isn't it just guesswork?
Talk about completely missing the point....
Im absolutely baffled that some people have accepted Mount is like a new signing narrative.
So our big summer midfield rebuild would be Tielemans, Santos and Mount? Imagine accepting that in the beginning of the summer. How did we go from 150M midfield transfer budget to just 85M spend? Our last midfield signing was supposed to be the most important one, the starting #6 to replace Casemiro.
God the standards are in the gutter. And its not even like we are reinvesting the money in other positions.
From talks of a marquee signing to Mason Mount, and fans seem okay with it. Insane.
So our big summer midfield rebuild would be Tielemans, Santos and Mount? Imagine accepting that in the beginning of the summer. How did we go from 150M midfield transfer budget to just 85M spend? Our last midfield signing was supposed to be the most important one, the starting #6 to replace Casemiro.
God the standards are in the gutter. And its not even like we are reinvesting the money in other positions.
From talks of a marquee signing to Mason Mount, and fans seem okay with it. Insane.
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I'm as big of a muppet as the next poster on here but after a while you have to look at all the evidence and realise there's clearly been more than one thing wrong at this club. It's never been about not spending enough money on players or wages, we've actually spent far far too much for what we've ever gotten in return.
I've been super high on here in years gone by when we've spent a lot of money or one of our players kicks on for a few months but basically what we've been attempting is totally unsustainable. Look at the books and the league finishes and the trophy cabinet. Finally this feels different. Someone had to burst the bubble and restart the project.
It may look cheap or underwhelming from the outside but we mostly need calm heads behind the scenes and a feel good factor in the squad, that's half the battle. Look at how much better we do when the players actually like the manager and coaches, when we actually play to the players strengths. Success isn't going to come from hiring mercenaries out for the glamour and the absolute most cash possible to satisfy fans on the Internet and nobody on earth is worth 300k a week to you when you're going from 2nd to 8th the following season. Let alone having 3 or 4 players on that kind of money. It's been the emporers new clothes for far too long
The foundations and values at the club needed to be fixed. The only true value for money we've gotten out of any player on big money post Fergie is Bruno because he has the right kind of personality since the minute he got here. He's a leader. He clearly wants to be here. He's professional. He gives everything all the time. He was also on normal money when he first came in too and worked his way up.
I think we will grab Skelly or Baleba to cover midfield and that left side and go for a proper LB next summer. Dalot Dorgu or Maz can cover that side if shaw is out. Endrick would be such a wildcard signing, I'd love it and I genuinely think it might be doable seeing as he isn't on massive wages yet but the latest word is he's going to try and get into the team this season at Madrid. I'd say revisit in January.
My take, let's just try and build a hungry squad capable of challenging without readymade superstars and their egos and entourages. Sensible transfers, hungry players with a point to prove and obviously if it starts going really well then yeah we can still pay as much as anybody else to keep our top players here.
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TBH I think the Mount and Rashford new signings are said a bit tongue in cheek, whilst I am hoping we make a further midfield signing even if it is just Berge, I'm more bothered with the lack of transfer activity over all, I could cope with no 3rd midfielder if we were bulking up in other areas
The club have brought it's fans to their knees. Asking for Sander Berge and not actual world class players.
INEOS weren't worth it. If the Glazers had just overhauled recruitment we'd have probably been better on the pitch today.
However this is the majority of the problem spending now and pushing it to the never ending story of eternal debt.
The transfer legacy debt payments alone are over £100m in September for players we’ve let go and loaned out like Antony, Hojlund, Onana, Bayinder.
I’m a little more positive, I genuinely believe we were never going to do 5 or 6 main transfers unless we sold Rashford, Ugarte and Zirkzee for £70- 75m we haven’t so the club have pivoted and will use the £10m from Greenwood Sell on plus another £20m for academy players like Vitek, Amass, Gore, Wheatley etc.
That is £30m of net profit and will allow them to spend another £140-150m. The reality is even if we have £70-80m cash to facilitate those transfers, the players we want are either;
1) Far more expensive than we anticipated or
2) Have better offers from other clubs or
3) Want to stay at their existing club and are using United for a new long term contract at their existing club.
I’m not even frustrated by this window, INEOS under SJR is just not a guy that knows how to be a wining chairmen, he hasn’t got the urgency or desires absolute win at all costs that drive genuine success. Nice are an obvious example, that’s ok and he may have told his CFO, Roger Bell a clear instruction to make sure that Berada and Wilcox know that the last 2 to 3 transfers must be in the last few days of the window simply so United can save one months wages on 2 to 3 new players which could be a saving of £1.4 to £2m because he likes to look after the pennies and then the pounds look after themselves!
Jim’s words not mine?
If we end up with Camavinga (£55m), Antonee Robinson(£30m) and Endrick with £5m loan and obligation to buy for £40m that would be a fantastic window from where we are right now !
Forget about the midfield, the fact that we're going into a season with Luke Shaw as our only LB is a fecking joke.