The transfer deals that Man United have made in the last two seasons have not only made no sense tactically, they are also massively damaging financially.
Manchester United’s transfer policy over the last few years has been critiqued widely for the unbalanced, inconsistent squad that it has resulted in. United are totally top-heavy, and lack and top quality central defenders.
But these bad transfers are damaging more than just the balance of the side. They are also creating financial problems which could take years to sort out down the line.
In the modern era of Financial Fair Play, every pound counts, and United’s reckless transfer policy could be digging them into a very deep hole.
Can you see a single one of these signings being sold for a profit; or even for the same fee they were bought for?
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BOUGHT: Wilfried Zaha £10-15m
Zaha was bought in January 2013 for a £10m fee, that could rise to £15m depending on “performance related bonuses” – which look somewhat unlikely now.
This deal just didn’t work out for Man United. Zaha is a promising talent who wasn’t given much of a chance by David Moyes, and isn’t even getting much of a chance at Crystal Palace. They will be able to recoup a few million pounds if they choose to sell him in the summer, and will have made a considerable loss.
BOUGHT: Marouane Fellaini £27.5m
From the moment Fellaini arrived it was agreed that United had vastly overpaid for the midfielder, and that was before anyone knew how badly the move would work out. The Belgian cost a huge amount of money, and is on a huge contract. While he has broken back into the side recently, he’s providing nothing that signing for a 10th of the price could have brought to the team.
BOUGHT: Juan Mata £37.1m
Mata has been at United for less than a year and is already being linked with cut-price moves away. He was a panic buy, the kind that should not be made by the experienced and level headed businessmen in the boardroom of a club like Manchester United. They bought him because he was available rather than because they needed him, and now look set to make a catastrophic loss on the former Chelsea midfielder.
BOUGHT: Luke Shaw £30m
Chelsea balked at the enormous fee quoted for the teenager, and at his wages. The colossal amount of money United have poured into Shaw over a potential five year deal will take a lot of repaying, and will seriously limit their ability to spend in future windows. Given Chelsea’s excellent recent transfer record, perhaps Manchester United should have followed the Blues lead.
BOUGHT: Marcos Rojo – £16m + Nani
In the wake of United’s opening day defeat to Swansea City they signed Rojo, for a fee that raised more than a few eyebrows. Instead of the top class, solid central defender they needed, United bought a pseudo-centre-back seemingly off the back of Argentina’s run to the 2014 World Cup final. It’s no wonder Sporting CP fans were shocked that a major club had moved for a player that Tim Vickery described as “not a player of Manchester United’s calibre”.
SOLD: Shinji Kagawa – £6m
In a textbook example of their muddled transfer thinking, United bought Kagawa for £16m, barely played him, and then sold him with his value at rock bottom, for just £6m. The smart move would have been to loan Kagawa out to increase his value, and try and mitigate the loss.
BOUGHT: Angel di Maria – £59.7
Di Maria is a top class player, and one that has improved Manchester United since his arrival. But there is a sense that, like Mata he was bought because he was available, rather than as part of any long term strategy. The £60m outlay could have been spent on a new pair of centre-backs for example. Instead, United are left with a top heavy team containing far too many strikers and attacking players, some of whom, like Kagawa and possibly Mata, will have to be shifted for less than their true value.
SOLD: Danny Welbeck – £16m
Danny Welbeck was one of those booted out of Old Trafford to make way for the new wave of overpriced stars. Perhaps Welbeck isn’t world class, but he certainly has enough qualities to at least be a United squad player. The fee Arsenal paid is only slightly more than just one year of Falcao’s wages, and the Welbeck’s excellent form at Arsenal since his move is making the United money-men look even more foolish.
BOUGHT: Daley Blind – £14m
Louis Van Gaal wanted to bring in players he has worked with, that makes sense. But Blind is not an outstanding player, and not worth the big money United have paid. There are a host of young central midfielder in the United academy whose progress is being blocked by Blind’s presence.
BOUGHT: Falcao – £loan (£46m)
Falcao spent United’s last game on the bench watching youngster James Wilson play in his stead. The Colombian was another hugely risky deal, and one that gives off the same impression of desperation that the Di Maria deal does. Red Devils fans will be praying that the £46m option required to make the deal permanent is not taken up. Even without the permanent fee, Falcao’s astronomical wages are draining vast amounts of cash from the wage bill, for a player who’s spent most of the season on the bench or in the treatment room.
BOUGHT: Ander Herrera £29m
Herrera is young and has plenty of potential. He could very well develop into a top player. But the circumstances surrounding his arrival – 12 months on from when it was supposed to happen – have given off the impression that he was bought to prove a point, rather than for football reasons. Herrera could one day be worth 29 million pounds, but that doesn’t change the fact that the money would have been better spent elsewhere in the team.