Sunderland have announced that they have completed the double signing of Manchester United pair Paddy McNair and Donald Love.
Both players have put pen-to-paper on four-year deals with the Black Cats, in a deal that will see United receive a transfer fee of £5.5m for the duo, as confirmed on Sunderland’s website.
McNair was highly thought of at Old Trafford and so it may come as a disappointment for many to see him leave the club, while Love was also considered a top prospect and will naturally be frustrated that he wasn’t able to make his mark in Manchester.
However, the pair will now look forward to working with former United boss David Moyes, who spoke glowingly about them and believes that he can help develop them into top players as he looks to mastermind an improvement in Sunderland’s performances as of this season.
Meanwhile, as for United, it’s another committed move from Jose Mourinho who will be planning an exodus of sort at the club between now and the transfer deadline.
Having spent heavily on bringing in the likes of Eric Bailly, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the Portuguese tactician will want to trim his squad down and offload any individuals deemed surplus to requirements.
Whether or not it’s the right approach remains to be seen as United will compete on various fronts this year, and depth will be key to ensure that Mourinho has the quality to call upon for different games as he rotates his line-up.
Mourinho still has numerous young players at his disposal as well as seasoned professionals who face an uncertain future, and it now remains to be seen whether or not more face the axe ahead of his first season in charge.