Manchester United spent heavily in the recently-concluded transfer window, with their transfer splurge second only to Arsenal in the Premier League. The Red Devils, who finished second in the league last season, have an attack-rich squad that many pundits feel could challenge for the title this season.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be a happy man following the transfer window and the pressure will now be on him to deliver trophies at Old Trafford. The Norwegian has yet to win a trophy in his two-and-a-half years as manager of the club.
Which players came in and went out in the summer window at Manchester United.
Let’s take a look.
Ins
Tom Heaton
Manchester United brought back goalkeeper Tom Heaton to the club, who had come through the ranks at Old Trafford but never made an appearance for the senior side. The 35-year-old signed on a free transfer after his contract with previous club Aston Villa expired in the summer.
Heaton will be the third-choice goalkeeper at the club behind David de Gea and Dean Henderson, and is a very useful third ‘keeper. He has Premier League and international experience and is a good signing for the club.
Jadon Sancho – £73 million
The Jadon Sancho saga finally ended this summer as Manchester United belatedly got their man for a fee of £73 million. The fee is far lesser than what Borussia Dortmund was demanding last summer, which somewhat justifies the Red Devils’ decision to not pay the huge fee last summer.
Sancho is a fantastic signing for Manchester United as the club has been desperately looking for a right-sided winger, a player who can take on defences, especially low-block defences. The English winger has played a part in all three league games so far and hasn’t really set the world alight. But, he needs to be given time to settle into the Premier League and this United team.
Raphael Varane – £41 million
While the imminent signing of Jadon Sancho was expected by a majority of Manchester United fans at the start of the summer, not many thought that a world-class defender like Raphael Varane would make the switch to Old Trafford this window. The World Cup-winning defender was signed by United from Real Madrid for a fee of just £41 million, which seems like a steal considering the wealth of experience and quality that Varane possesses.
He looked at home in the United backline on his debut against Wolves and is expected to get better in the weeks and months to follow.
Cristiano Ronaldo – £12.9 million
To many, Lionel Messi’s switch to Paris Saint-Germain was a shocker, but Cristiano Ronaldo has eclipsed the Argentine’s transfer saga with his switch to Manchester United breaking all social media engagement records. Ronaldo was signed for a fee of just £12.9 million, with an additional £6.86 million in add-ons.
The Portuguese ace was tipped to move to rivals Manchester City. But a last-minute intervention by the United hierarchy, as well as discussions with former United players and Sir Alex Ferguson turned the tide in United’s favour. Ronaldo will add goals and be a focal point to the Old Trafford outfit’s frontline this season.
Outs
Dan James – £25 million
The fallout of Ronaldo signing with United is the departure of Dan James, who joins Leeds United. While James doesn’t play in the position that Ronaldo does, Solskjaer has plenty of options out wide, one of whom is Mason Greenwood, who seems undroppable at the moment.
The likes of Tahith Chong (Birmingham City), Axel Tuanzebe (Aston Villa), and Brandon Williams (Norwich City) will hope to get some game time in their loan spells this season.
Rating – 8/10
Manchester United has addressed two major issues in their squad – centre-back and right-wing, but still don’t have a quality defensive midfielder who can provide cover to the defence to allow the talented attackers to create havoc ahead. Fred has failed to impress while Nemanja Matic is past his prime which leaves Scott McTominay as the only reliable option in the long term.
Many fans have been clamouring for a player like Kalvin Phillips but Ole will have to do without any further addition in that area of the pitch till at least the January transfer window.