Manchester United Banter

05 Aug 2026 17:32:46
Are the owners deliberately screwing up the transfer window? Are they setting up Carrick to fail because, post World Cup, their initial choice for manager is now available? Just a conspiracy theory, guys. Take it with a pinch of salt.

05 Aug 2026 19:44:24
Incompetent, regardless of whose coach. Genuinely baffling that we had the Glazers for so long, and then got the English version of them too, and they get to tango! £35m net spend, is it? That's all I have to say before I get called negative.

05 Aug 2026 20:11:40
Nope too late, already calling you negative.

05 Aug 2026 20:43:46
At the moment, and I want to emphasise at the moment, it's coming across like transfer windows of the past. Loads of links to players, and the club wants this or that player, but for them to never follow through. Somebody will release a statement soon saying there is no value in the market.

I'm also getting a small flashback to the summer the club chased Fabregas all summer to panic buy Fellani right at the end of the window.



But there is still time. I would prefer the signings to be done quickly so they could settle in during pre season. But maybe they have a master plan we don't know about. Fingers crossed.

05 Aug 2026 21:23:13
That's the thing, being linked by the media and supposed 'in the know' knobs online doesn't mean they are in the club's sights.

Not one of us could've predicted Tielemans and Andrey Santos when the window opened.

I expect a couple more signings that'll come out of the blue. Names not circulating online for click bait.

05 Aug 2026 21:25:33
The question is who out of this big list of alleged linked or wanted players is actually fact?

Can anybody categorically state that we were 100% after a certain player or is it Fabricatio Romano et al imagining it? How much of it is just the tsunami of wishful thinking that makes it become fact?

Maybe, and yes it's a big maybe, the management have actually got a realistic plan they are working to.

Lie back, drink wine, eat cheese and relax for a few weeks. Then by all means have a rant.

It's a mother beautiful bridge and its going to be there.

05 Aug 2026 21:33:06
If Hall is a target 2toms why wasn't he brought in earlier? Didn't go to the world cup either, desperately need a lb, surely he should have been here and ready for the first game. We lost the first game of last season and got knocked out of the league Cup by not getting Lammens in earlier, imperative to have the squad ready for GW1.

Now we go to Newcastle last minute; and expect them to sell and get a Hall replacement in 4 weeks?

Seen City getting rid of Reijnders to Forest after season 1; not good enough and you're out, we were genuinely sitting here in 2021 saying 3 of the current back aren't good enough, Shaw Maguire Dalot, and we'll be going into 2027 with them!

Best in class; ruthless United; that's why we've gone 10 years with 3 trophies and city have absolutely annihilated us! Big United, waiting all window for market opportunities haha, parasites will be happy to take their massive dividends at the end of the year, but will tip toe in the window.

F the Glazers and the rat, for keeping them here, absolute rubbish stains.

05 Aug 2026 23:57:26
Hall wasn't in the World Cup, but was the World Cup the only factor?
I think the transfers of Tonali and Gordon were pending, they knew they would leave. Then there was a high possibility that Bruno would ask to leave without European football and Arsenal waiting in the corner.
Whether we went for Hall now or in June, maybe there is not much difference. The way I see it, it's Hall at 21 they want to keep rather than rejecting 80 millions for Bruno at 29, or trying to keep Gordon, who was as good as gone.

05 Aug 2026 13:53:57
If United wanted Hall all along why wait until Newcastle sold Gordon, Tonali and Guimaraes to put themselves in a stable financial situation? Then put out the word it will now be difficult deal to do. Would it even cost us more to do now?
Make it make sense.

05 Aug 2026 14:36:25
I can only assume we don't want him, because as you say, waiting until Newcastle had made £240m would be pretty foolish. Hall wasn't at the World Cup. We could have started negotiations back in June.

Instead, we'll now be negotiating with a club who has zero incentive to sell (if anything, they'll be reluctant to lose another first team player), and who will have less time to bring in a replacement than they would have had if we had begun working on a deal months ago.



So yes, I don't think even we could be that amateurish.

05 Aug 2026 15:21:59
They've probably had to reevaluate, as the summer has gone on, because the outgoings haven't gone to plan at all.

Obviously, Casemiro, Sancho and Malacia's contracts have expired. We got a decent fee for Hojlund, but we would have probably been banking on at least a few of Rashford, Zirkzee, Onana and Ugarte leaving.

Ugarte is out for the season. We've loaned Onana for the cost of his wages. Rashford is still here, and Zirkzee is flirting with a loan move to Italy.

Again, we're reaping what we've sown, handing Onana and Rashford big contracts. Ugarte is obviously bad luck, and unfortunate for the lad.

We're still a soft touch in the market, loan moves with no obligation etc. Until the last of the high paid/poor players leave, we'll have this issue until they leave for free.



Herrera, Matic, Mata, Lingard, Pogba, Jones, De Gea, Martial, Varane, Lindelof, Eriksen, Malacia, Sancho and Casemiro have all left the club for the grand total of £0.

I'm not defending the club, and the knives will come out if the window closes and the squad hasn't been improved, but we're trying to change a decade plus of being the worst club in world buying and selling players.

The Hall situation, as you and Redseven said correctly, should have been addressed early doors, but I think the money is finite, and we may have to pick carefully what positions we address because I don't think we'll be getting a left back, centre mid, winger and back up striker like we need.

Things can happen fast though. I think some clubs will panic and go for Rashford over the next couple of weeks.

05 Aug 2026 15:45:55
Looking at all the transfers, I can only assume the club has other plans, which, if you go by what has been done to date, were not reported on until they were pretty much done. I would not mind, and, in some ways, it suits the club to let the media report things that are not factual if my focus was elsewhere and I wanted to avoid the attention.



I still think we will do 2 more big signings. Maybe not household/popular names, but they fit what the plan is.

05 Aug 2026 19:56:07
That depends on what you consider to be "big signings".

I think we all get the need for a bit of fiscal prudence after years of overpaying for big names. However, if the club is bringing in budget stop gap squad players, while the top 2 splash the cash, then we're not closing that gap.

I looked at this summer as a test of Ineos's ambition. After finishing 3rd, it's an opportunity to get in among the top 2 conversation, especially with Pep stepping down. I agree with the club's reluctance to bid for Anderson, and stepping away from Fernandez at that price. But, I expect to see some desire to sign players that can bring us closer to competing for titles.



I thought that the two we brought were a good start. However, I have a creeping feeling that these are the "big signings" for the summer, and anyone else will be nothing more than a squad option. If that proves to be the case, then we've lost ground on the top 2 and given the chasing pack a good chance of catching us.

The club needs to decide if it's serious about genuinely competing, or just happy to have a chance of Champions League. At present, the latter seems more likely.

05 Aug 2026 10:37:39
Vitek off to Middlesbrough for £14 million including potential add-ons, also includes a 35% sell-on fee.

Wishing him the best of luck!

05 Aug 2026 10:46:27
Good to get him moved on. Sounds like a decent fee. Happy days.

05 Aug 2026 11:42:12
Hope there is a buy back clause.

05 Aug 2026 12:09:29
It's peanuts. Others sell players for £40m; we get offers of £6m, £14m. Is he going to be a first choice keeper for them?

05 Aug 2026 12:26:12
It looks as though he is being brought in to be their first-choice keeper. Vitek was reportedly Boro's top goalkeeper target after they decided they wanted an upgrade in that position, and they're even trying to register him in time to play against Wrexham on Friday.

The £14m isn't all guaranteed upfront. Reports say it's initially around £7m, rising through appearances and potentially promotion. United have also protected themselves with a 35% sell-on clause, matching rights and, importantly, a buy-back option.



So I think it's a decent deal. Vitek wanted regular first-team football, which United couldn't promise him, but there's still a route to bring him back if he develops into a top keeper.

It's been a busy day for outgoing goalkeepers too, with Altay Bayindir also heading to Celta Vigo on loan. That deal reportedly includes a €4m option to buy, with the final fee potentially changing depending on appearances.

05 Aug 2026 13:41:18
Good deal. Better getting sell-on percentages and buy-backs rather than eke out a few million now. Best we could have gotten for Vitek is 20m, but his potential is really good.

05 Aug 2026 14:06:54
Absolutely shocking by United. 6 million for one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship last season.
Coventry have just paid 22.5 million for Carl Rushford, who was on loan with them last season.
Should be getting at least 15-20 million guaranteed for him.

05 Aug 2026 15:52:42
Some add-ons are very easy to achieve, and if he was worth what people think he is, the current ownership would get that number. House cleaning is going on and needed.

05 Aug 2026 00:17:43
United should earn an extra £50m from the Betway sponsorship deal, the Adidas uplift, and the documentary. A decent run in the Champions League and the domestic cups and total revenues of £800m are not out of the question. That's a rise of about £140m. The club was already starting to become profitable at the end March 31st and hopefully we won't have the costs of firing a manger and his crew this next financial year.

For the above reasons I believe the club still has plenty room to make two or three significant additions to the squad. Whether they do remains to be seen. They're clearly not planning on being taken to the cleaners by anyone. But if they're really planning on contending for the league title by next year, they're going to have to stump up some cash or be very lucky/smart indeed.

04 Aug 2026 22:03:31
I see Big Sir Jim Farage and co. have done a deal with Betway to be our training kit sponsor, nice to see the guys are classy as always.