Manchester United have instigated a new policy of not signing players over the age of 28, according to a surprise report emerging today.
In a Daily Mirror piece discussing Juan Mata’s Old Trafford future, linking the Spaniard with the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona and Juventus, it’s also claimed the club are now no longer set to recruit players that are too old.
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While this sounds a pretty strange policy to impose on themselves, United have been burned by the recent signing of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal.
The Chile international moved from the Emirates Stadium to Old Trafford just over a year ago and has been a big flop in his time with the Red Devils.
And now at the age of 30, it seems United could well struggle to get him off their books as clubs will no doubt feel his peak years are behind him.
Still, United have had some success with short-term deals for old players in the past, most notably Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was a big hit in 2016/17 and could even have played at a high level beyond then if not for him picking up an injury towards the end of his first season.
The Swede scored crucial goals for Man Utd to help them win the Community Shield and League Cup final, and it would be a shame for the club to miss out on other top talents just because of their age.
It remains to be seen how strict this new policy will be or if they will make the odd exception if a really tempting transfer becomes possible.