Manchester United banter 10

02 Jul 2026 12:36:14
I'd like us to be a little more dynamic and decisive, but the time to judge the window will be after at least 12 games into the season. Look at Liverpool last year; many thought their summer window meant they would walk the league but.

02 Jul 2026 13:53:17
Oops, hit send. My point is, buying is one thing; integrating is another. We have bought some stellar names over the years, only for them to bomb.

02 Jul 2026 14:12:59
Good post, AJH.

02 Jul 2026 14:58:31
I remember us getting Zlatan (Lg 1 player of the year) to play alongside Rooney and Pogba (UEFA Player of the Year) and the then German player of the year, Mhki, and yet we were not really impressed.

Even when we brought in Alexi Sanchez.
Stars like DiMaria, Rooney, Falcao, RvP and Mata did not set us ablaze. So gathering players is one thing, making them deliver is another.

02 Jul 2026 15:02:44
Rooney. Really?
All those titles we would have won if we had just signed someone else instead of our club's record goalscorer in Rooney. Give your head a wobble.

02 Jul 2026 15:07:25
Best to buy no one then. Integration won't be a problem then. Go with what we have.

02 Jul 2026 19:43:37
"Rooney did not set us ablaze." Seriously. He was utterly brilliant with a great attitude. He kept winning titles.
RVP won us the league.
Dear me.

02 Jul 2026 21:07:03
Rooney. Our record goal scorer. Yeah bang average.

What I'd give for 11 like him now.

02 Jul 2026 22:19:56
I think the poster meant when we signed Sanchez, not throughout his career.

03 Jul 2026 13:40:51
That's the way I took it too, GDS.

Criticism of the players brought in to play alongside him, rather than Rooney himself.

Only mbd knows. ?

02 Jul 2026 10:33:27
Our priority the window is always at least 2 midfielders, to start. I think we are still good up top with lots of options and cover even at LB there is cover. Spurs have spent 185 on 2 very good Premier League proven midfielders. I would have been very happy if those were the only players we purchased in the window.

But I'm sure they have a plan and plenty of time left. I fear we will probably end up spending what we refused to spend for both those players on weaker options. Hopefully not, but given our situation we have to buy at least 2 players for midfield now and hope no one else gets injured.

02 Jul 2026 17:07:34
Agreed, at least somewhat. There are several positions that we should be looking to strengthen this summer, but they are all far less important than the midfield. Supposedly we have the capacity to spend big this summer, but we are not willing to pay the market rate for the top midfielders available.

Spurs have signed Tonali and Fernandes for about £180 million, and obviously if we had signed those two players for those fees, that would limit our ability to strengthen other positions.

But if we had signed those two, we would almost certainly still have the money available for Ederson and perhaps a versatile defender who can play at left back or right back, and maybe even centre back in an emergency.

We can wait until next summer before signing another winger, centre forward, and centre back, provided we sign the right players in midfield this summer.

02 Jul 2026 21:08:51
We have that versatile defender in Mazaroui Gily. He's having a fabulous World Cup so far.

02 Jul 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - MK Scouser has posted a new article entitled, A Squad Deep Dive as Iraola Takes Charge

01 Jul 2026 20:57:54
I understand that we are clearly determined not to spend stupid money on players this summer. However, Anderson is joining City, Tonali is joining Spurs, Fernandes is joining Spurs, Tchouameni is probably staying at Madrid, and Guimaraes will probably join Arsenal at some point.

We are only just in July, and that is 5 targets that won't be happening. Now, obviously there is a budget this summer, and there are several positions that require work, but our midfield has been the most obvious priority for months now. You can't tell me that fixing the midfield can wait because the right players aren't available at the right price, and equally you can't tell me that other positions can't wait another year.

If we had to wait until next summer to sign a left winger, or left back, or right back, or back up centre forward or whatever, because it cost too much to fix the midfield this summer, that will hurt us much less than if we don't fix the midfield properly this summer.

Obviously there are other players available, but those 5 are probably the best 5 available this summer and we haven't coughed up the cash to get 1 done. That's not good enough for me, and it doesn't exactly show ambition.

There was a time when United wanted a player, they paid whatever they needed to pay, and every other club in the country would fight over the second best option. Maybe Anderson was simply too expensive, but in the current market, Tonali at £100m, Fernandes at £85m, Tchouameni at £80m is arguably pretty reasonable compared to spending maybe £60m on Baleba or £50m on Stiller, who are simply not the same standard.

Don't get me wrong, they are both still good players, and there are several others that have been linked in recent months, but how are we supposed to close the gap on City, if they are signing Anderson, and we can only sign players in that next bracket down?

01 Jul 2026 22:28:47
Who said Tonali, Guimaeres were targets?
Let me name some midfielders that we could still target, and would improve us:
Scott, Sadiki, Wharton, Baleba, Nmecha, Stiller, Manu Kone, Bouaddi, Tchoumeni.
We need one more, ideally two.

01 Jul 2026 22:55:35
Perhaps they were targets, perhaps they weren't. They have certainly been linked with United in recent months. Either way, they are among the best available, and even if we didn't make an offer, we've missed out.

Simply put, we are Man United and we should be targeting the best. Anderson, Tonali, Guimaraes, Fernandes are among the best available. Sadiki, Wharton, Baleba, Kone, Bouaddi are not among the best available. They are second rate.

We need two more this summer without question. We can't start a new season in which we could be playing 50-60 games with only Mainoo, Ederson, and one other. That would be catastrophic.

Perhaps if we can get Alex Scott and Tchouameni, I will consider it a decent window. Stiller and Nmecha are both decent midfielders too, but they are still not among the best available.

I find it all the more frustrating that Tonali and Fernandes are both joining Spurs, who won't even be playing Champions League next season, rather than a genuinely elite club. Perhaps for Fernandes, who is only 22, that's not really a concern, but Tonali is 26, entering his peak years, and you have to wonder whether these guys would've picked United over Spurs if we had offered enough money to get the deal done.

01 Jul 2026 22:57:14
There's only 5 CMS in world football.

01 Jul 2026 23:22:25
Villa have shown under Emery, you can put a top midfield together on free transfers with Kamara and Tielemans. So, it is true there are plenty of players out there we could sign, no denying that.

However, losing Casemiro's experience and quality, I think fans were expecting a marquee signing like Anderson, Tonali, or Tchouameni, and to see 2/3 join Premier League rivals is going to lead to some worry amongst the fanbase.

02 Jul 2026 00:02:00
There is no denying we have missed out on our top 2 targets imo.
When it became clear that we were not the priority for either player, then we didn't bid.
Some will argue pay more and then the player will prioritise United. But we've seen that backfire spectacularly several times.
I'm not one bit concerned, and I've no doubt we will make quality signings.

02 Jul 2026 00:33:07
Will Villa win the league in the next two years?

02 Jul 2026 07:30:46
Will Spurs?

02 Jul 2026 09:00:39
Tw
Interesting question. Given who Spurs are buying, and with De Zerbi as manager, there is an argument they are more likely to win the league before us with present playing staff and management. It can change.

02 Jul 2026 09:11:29
Red Man, I rate De Zerbi and technically think he is brilliant. Spurs are definitely giving him the tools that he wants, and if it all works, I can see them definitely back up challenging for top 6.

More likely to win the league before us... Need for the window to complete before that is answered, to see what both teams have.

Secondary question for Spurs is whether De Zerbi becomes combustible and it blows up before they get success..... Like I say, I rate him highly, but it was the one worry I had when we were potentially discussing him coming in.

02 Jul 2026 09:15:29
We have no idea if any of them were targets or not. One would hope that the club already identified its targets and is working on them. What is no doubt is Bruno G, Tonali, or Anderson would have enhanced our midfield immensely, not so sure about others.

My main concern is the criteria of us wanting just young, cheaper potential purchases. That really concerns me. SJR's attitude to it always concerns me from day one it was done.

I said all along that be careful what you wish for, but of course everyone likes to bang on about the Glazers.

It appears now, because we have been stung a few times with high prices and salary, we are now judging everything on that, which is ridiculous.

Let's hope we got our targets sewn up and we know what we are doing, but don't put your house on it...

02 Jul 2026 10:15:19
Mbeumo nor Cunha fall into the category of young and cheap.
Sesko, yes, like Yoro, but we paid top money for them.
They will pay the right money for the right player.
I'm not going to judge and assess until the window is over.
We have not bought cheap alternatives for any position so far under SJR.

02 Jul 2026 12:01:42
Every year its groundhog day, like the amateur anglers who always want to spread remorse over the one that got away.

These players didn't get away, well Anderson, foolishly in my opinion, chose city without waiting for the results of their lawsuits. Who knows what that might bring in the next few weeks or months.

Despite us massively overpaying for poor quality in the years up to ineos coming in, there's still demand to do the same, irrespective of proven past being a waste of money and also other clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal Chelsea and City wasting megamoney on failures.

It was common knowledge we would sign a minimum of 2 midfielders. Since then we are linked with every single player out there.the only reason Anderson amd Fernandes were up forst for debate and consideration was the selling clubs actively seeking buyers.

This happens every year. Last year we didn't get semenyo or gyokeres and apparently amorim wanted martinez and not lammens. So, I would argue we know what we are doing and we are actually following through on our promise not to allow agents or selling clubs dictate to us beyond what we believe the market is worth.

Couple that with a big investment in data driven decision making and I would say that we clearly have data that tells us we aren't making poor decisions based on emotion, we are making comparative decisions based on abilities aligned to the player profile we are looking for.

That data equally I cludes attitude, character, personality and mindset. It seems clear that the biggest driver to us was not actually price it was that neither player made it crystal clear that they
Wanted us and only us. Remember the farce with Brentford when we believed mbuemo was a 50 to 60m player compared to what we eventually paid and same for sesko? Yet we went higher because of the total commitment of the player that extended to their agreement on wage structures.

Im totally confident we will get the players we want. The WC made it harder to do early deals simply because perhaps its a huge risk to buy a player who's still competing. Imagine buying your dream Ferrari just before it races in your local track event and then watching it go up in flames. Being insured is no consolation is it?

We are always going to be impatient, opinionated and have differing views but my view is that ypu should judge a window at the very end not at the beginning just because there's three or four deals been done. I mean literally three or four deals and people are catastrophising like its the end of our season before it even begins.

02 Jul 2026 13:48:57
If we end up with Scott and Kroupi from Bournemouth, it would be good.

Capt Obvious,
3 of the top midfielders have gone to our opponents; they didn't have a problem with the World Cup timing.

02 Jul 2026 17:32:02
AngelRed, obviously there are still some very good players available. I have actually made it clear that I recognise that fact. However, Anderson and Tonali are almost certainly better than any that are currently available, along with Bruno Guimaraes, and Fernandes is arguably as good as any other target we might still have, but probably has a higher ceiling.

There is still scope for us to sign some very good midfielders this summer and start next season with a very good squad and genuine depth in midfield. For example, if we signed Scott and Tchouameni, or even Scott and Baleba, along with Ederson, I would consider that a moderately successful window for the midfield.

But, we could've simply paid the market rate for the top available options and started next season with an even better midfield.

Put it this way, would you rather we spent £160-180 million and signed Scott, Baleba, and Ederson, with Scott and Baleba potentially not joining until late in the window, or would you rather we spent £230-240 million and signed Tonali, Fernandes, and Ederson, and they could all join the squad as soon as training starts after the World Cup?

I know which I would prefer.

02 Jul 2026 22:25:08
Can't think why Fernandes and Tonali didn't have a problem with the World Cup being on.

01 Jul 2026 20:29:32
West Ham. "Well we didn't arf pull Spurs pants down on that deal, proper shafted them!"

Newcastle. "Is that right bonny lad, hold my Newcastle Brown Ale."

01 Jul 2026 22:57:44
They've just signed two top class centre midfielders. I suspect they will be a much stronger side next season as a result. We've signed Ederson, who should be a good addition, but certainly not the same level. Personally, I'm not laughing about it.

01 Jul 2026 23:09:14
Fernandes is not top class. 85 million for a 40-50 million pound player; they have had their pants pulled down. Add that to the 250k a week wages and the agent fees.

The guy has played in two relegation sides and not stood out in any of them.

And Tonali for 100 million. I dunno who is valuing these players, but if we're going to be paying that type of money for players who are in the average bracket, then God help us.

We've been the team normally overpaying in the past. I'm glad we're not getting dragged into these types of sales again.

Woodward-type deals.


If the rumours of us bidding 59 million for Scott are true, then I'd be much more happy with him, who, in my opinion, is miles ahead of Fernandes and is 4/5 years younger than Tonali, who isn't really that great of a player.

He is a good player and would improve us, but for 100 million and rumoured to be getting 300k we can't be doing that.

Surprised we haven't gone in for Baleba again after trying twice last season, but we do need 6/7 players in that squad.

We need to get champs football again next season. Cannot be missing out.


It's not quite panic time yet, but we do need to get a move on.

02 Jul 2026 00:36:05
Did you watch Baleba last season? He didn't even play in their first team.

02 Jul 2026 00:46:46
Dodgy,

He did, he played almost every game.

02 Jul 2026 07:41:31
Dodgy, he played just about every week. Brighton came above Newcastle, West Ham and Forest, and they created more chances than all 3.
Over hyped players. Anderson has been muck at the workshop cub. Fernandes and Tonali didn't make it. ? ?

02 Jul 2026 08:10:35
Sorry World Cup.

02 Jul 2026 09:23:15
Fernandez is not top class, that's for sure. Is he worth 80 million? Probably not. Is Tonali worth 100 million? Probably not. Is Bruno G 100 million? Probably not, when we can't get even 30 million for Rashford, but if that's the market, that's the market.

If we identified him, then we did not want to pay the going rate. That's a problem.

If they were not top of our list, then fine, move on, and let's just hope that we actually have identified our top priorities.



But my concern is our top priorities are more young potential at cheap prices, because Fernandes is just potential. But clearly we don't want to spend 80 million on potential, so that's a big red flag to me.

But all of you who keep saying it's good we are now not involved in spending big money and big salaries should not be complaining now.

02 Jul 2026 11:43:25
Difference with Rashford is his wages, mate. If he wasn't on those wages, he would be easy to sell.

Look at our recruitment recently, all signed on good wages, so if it doesn't work out, they have a better chance at selling.

I trust this lot a lot more than the previous ones in that department, and so far the signings have worked out.



Rumours we bid 59 million for Scott, that's been rejected, so hopefully a few more million, with some decent addons, and we manage to get him.


Midfields that control games are what we need, technically good on-the-ball players, and players that can play in tight spaces under pressure.

02 Jul 2026 12:03:36
Baleba started 23 games and came on as sub in 8 in the EPL. He started the season as a certain starter and ended with some games as an unused sub and some 5 min cameos. He did miss some games due to AFCON.



He was not good last year, after a stunning year the previous year. In the EPL, 26% wins when he started, 53% when he didn't start. Which is why he finished the season with less playing time.

02 Jul 2026 12:44:55
So he was available for 32 games and played a part in 31, so more than Sesko, for example.

02 Jul 2026 17:16:37
Bolger, Alex Scott is a very good player, but personally I think Fernandes is currently better, and has a higher ceiling. Does Scott at £60m offer better value than Fernandes at £85m? Perhaps, time will tell. Fernandes was easily the best midfielder in his team these last two seasons, and I suspect he will have a big impact at Spurs. I suspect Tonali will also improve Spurs dramatically.



Obviously, they have spent huge money on them, but that is the market rate for top class players entering their peak years/very good players with top class potential. Clearly, they will also be earning high wages, but Spurs are not known to offer enormous contracts so I would be surprised if they are earning more than United could justify offering.

01 Jul 2026 19:55:43
Tonali to Spurs hurts. Would love to have seen him in a United strip next season!

01 Jul 2026 22:24:44
He was my 2nd choice after Anderson Philip.
Spurs have a top midfield now and a top manager. They won't gel immediately, you would think, but I hope Spurs have a great season.

01 Jul 2026 23:12:29
Tonali is a good player. He would improve us, but 100 million and rumoured 300k a week is way too much. Prices are ridiculous.

Is he really a top manager, Tumble? He did decent with Brighton. His Marseille side fell apart, and he is known to be hard to work with.



But now is the time. The club need to get a move on, 7 weeks till the season starts. Can't be slacking and getting players in late and starting the season slow.

We have a very good start to the season, and need to be in the champs again next year.

02 Jul 2026 00:14:41
Hi Bolger, long time!
He was my 2nd choice. I think he is a very good player, but not in a million years a 100m and 300k a week player, imo. Nor Anderson.
Nor Fernandes, an 85m player.
For me, none of them are top tier players. None of them have achieved very much at all. Prem proven? All in bottom half, one relegated.


Good players, but not top tier or worth that money or wage, imo.
The only one worth that sort of money is Touchi, imo. I'm not a huge fan, but he was brilliant the other night.
By the way, Olise is worth double that. What a player he has become.


.

02 Jul 2026 00:49:11
Anderson was worth his price. Tonali is worth it on play, but not sure about him outside the pitch - gambling ban, stated desire to go back to Italy. Fernandes is aparently a statistical gem; the data analysts love him, and he is very young, has EPL experience, and has bags of potential. It seems we thought he was a good fit.

I think people are forgetting that $50m from 2008 is now more like $100m plus. The very highest transfers have been lacking recently, I guess the clubs have decided it is too much risk, but for modern day value, players like Yorke, Cole, Rooney are all over $200m.

So we are seeing the upper mid tier players going for more and more.

Our club revenue goes up, but now we want to cap player wages to below $150k/week. We were paying that to kids in 2010. Not sure how this is supposed to work. But if the idea is to find hidden gems, then I just dont like the rumours put out by the club that Anderson or whomever is their top priority, while the season ticket renewals are in full flow.

Yoro and Heaven were two younger prospects that we brought in to CB. But then we dont play them, so they can develop. We seem confused with our approach. Or maybe just I am confused. Happy Canada Day. ??

02 Jul 2026 09:29:53
We have just a scattergun approach under SJR, as always did with the Glazers pulling the strings. Just SJR is more penny pinching and going for young cheap potential, where Glazers targeted big money marque signings... At the end of the day you pay your money and take your choice, or as with SJR you don't pay no money and get no choice.



Players value is what it is, most are well over priced, but if someone is willing to pay that, that's the value.

Just shame we never able to sell ours at the going rates or are they just not good enough......

02 Jul 2026 09:51:19
Ken, there was talk of us going for Olise when he was at Crystal Palace. He is a fabulous footballer.

02 Jul 2026 10:19:54
Sure is, Patrick. Beautiful to watch.
Jsu, what people are prepared to pay is the price, not the value. The value will be determined over the next few years.
The reason we can't sell most of our players is because they earn too much and don't push to leave, usually.

They are not good enough to command the wages they want, so they sit tight on their lucrative contracts.

02 Jul 2026 11:49:24
For me, we need midfielders who can progress the ball, are technically good on the ball, can play in tight spaces, and ultimately can pass a ball.

Midfielders that can control and dictate tempo, similar to PSG, and how their midfield all rotate and dictate the tempo of games.

I really like Scott from Bournemouth and Baleba.

I have not seen much of Ederson, but for the fee, let's hope he is good enough.

I still worry about the fullbacks, and do think we need a cb. Martinez and de Ligt can't be trusted to stay fit, and Maguire, although he did alright last season, isn't going to win us titles.



Yoro and Heaven are kids; hopefully they play as a two in the cups and some prem games, and get a connection, as both could be the pairing for the future.

We do need a striker backup to Sesko. I have liked Cunha in that false 9 for Brazil so far, so he could be something for Carrick to look at also.

For the right player, I do believe we would pay the money. I'm glad we avoided Fernandez and Tonali for the prices they have gone for.

02 Jul 2026 12:54:59
It was documented that Arsenal were told several weeks ago that Scott isn't available... True or not, I don't know, but frankly, the guy seems very lightweight to me, where we need some steel.
Scott and Baleba would be very underwhelming for me.

01 Jul 2026 17:03:37
I do not think any player in the Championship is worth 85mil, let alone a player who has had 2 consecutive relegations with different clubs. We have our valuations and probably require some desire to be shown in wanting to join us. So if you do not fall within such parameters, then move over for next option to be considered! It's that simple for me!

01 Jul 2026 19:32:24
Agree with this, im not that bothered about M Fernandes going to Spurs, especially at that valuation. Fair enough, the club don't want to pay that much.

The more concerning ones for me are Spurs in for Tonali and Arsenal in for Bruno G. The club can stay strong all they like around valuations, but there will come a point in this summer when we get desperate for a signing in midfield.



I mean, is anyone seriously contemplating going into the season with Ederson and Mainoo as our only first choice centre mids, both coming off the back of World Cups lol.

01 Jul 2026 19:56:03
I think we clearly had a range of options and the leadership seems comfortable in their approach of being in full charge of their own decisions.

I like the feeling of walking away from bad deals.

It sends the right message, and we will not be signing Fellaini on deadline day. There is far too much structure and professional football expertise for that scenario to ever occur again.

01 Jul 2026 21:23:31
I can accept that Anderson at around £120m might simply be too expensive. But Tonali at £100m and Fernandes at £85m are not bad deals. They are both very good players with very good potential. Tonali is obviously the more complete player at the moment, but Fernandes clearly has a very high ceiling.



They may both seem very expensive, but that is the market at the moment. If we are not willing to pay those prices, rival clubs will pay those prices, and we will eventually sign second rate players.

01 Jul 2026 21:43:07
I cannot help feeling that they are considering Rashford as a signing, given his return and teams' reluctance to take him so far.

02 Jul 2026 00:15:55
Tbf mbd, he's never played in the Championship. He gets a move before he has to.

02 Jul 2026 12:53:10
Fair enough, Ken, but what league is he in now?

01 Jul 2026 15:46:37
Is it bad of me to want Croatia to beat Portugal so Bruno gets a break and is ready for us next season? Aw well that's what I'm hoping for anyways lol.

01 Jul 2026 16:06:24
Bruno is always ready. Never tired. Never injured.

01 Jul 2026 16:11:24
Not much to worry about with Bruno. Plus, Mount has had a well rested summer, so he can cover him for about 45 minutes before he gets injured.

01 Jul 2026 16:24:09
No, it's not bad, as you are presumably not Portuguese.

01 Jul 2026 14:45:55
With only 2 months left in the transfer window and now that we have lost Fernandez and have yet to announce Ederson, and with no other talent out there, it's clear that the owners do not intend to buy anyone at all. Instead they're just going to milk as much money as they can next year and head for the hills. And here was me thinking they could easily afford and would go ahead and spend between £250-£300m. I've clearly been duped. All is lost. Relegation awaits next season.

Or maybe there's a different plan.

01 Jul 2026 16:05:37
I hear ya, and Carrick is sat on his hands when he should be complaining, and demanding they sign someone, anyone. This refusal to spend money is typical of United, we'll probably sign our 8th choice on deadline day; it's a disgrace!

01 Jul 2026 16:16:27
The sky is falling in. It's a disaster. Relegation looms.

01 Jul 2026 16:25:20
The world is about to end, according to some, so why waste money on players.

01 Jul 2026 16:31:00
Very clever, guys. Just as much as the optimists can say let's wait and see who we sign, the pessimists can say the same. Wait and see. But, it seems we decided not to pay for our 2 top midfield targets.

Money is now king at OT. Better yet, fans are celebrating. No pressure at all on the owners to deliver a winning team.

We are just victims to the previous owners. They left us in this mess. Only, no, wait! These are the very same owners. Okay, let's give them all another chance, then. Sure they will get it all right this time. They have such a great track record.

01 Jul 2026 17:09:17
I can't say I'm disappointed about losing out on Fernandes for the quoted money. There's better out there. I was disappointed about the Anderson deal, but the finances there seem crazy too.
What does worry me is the speed at which we're moving with deals, and the seeming lack of plans.


There are many good midfielders out there, but I'm worried we're gonna go way down our list to the likes of a Baleba.

01 Jul 2026 17:14:00
Manager makes a difference.

No one wants to play for Carrick.
No personality whatsoever.

01 Jul 2026 18:10:40
You have a point, Dodgy. I'd like us to be more dynamic, but I'm chilled about Anderson and Fernandes, neither of whom seemed to want to play for us.

01 Jul 2026 10:05:25
Now that Fernandes is going to Spurs, who are we going after next?
Tchouameni is a dream apparently but no talks so far, we don't even know if he's for sale.
Scott being mentioned but Bournemouth want to keep him.


His price would also be very high.
Nmecha probably another one with a big price because he signed a new deal recently.
What's it going to be, Eds?

01 Jul 2026 10:33:03
It doesn't matter what the name is. Manchester United are in a restaurant and they have a menu card, but we are not looking at the names of the dishes. We are apparently looking only at the prices of those dishes. Striking out anything above a limit.

So, all the delicacies are struck off, and we are looking at the sides or the beverages, whichever costs less.

Posts on the page suggest that Tchouameni and Scott would come below the 75-80m mark.

01 Jul 2026 11:38:06
Time to go for Stiller.

01 Jul 2026 12:18:06
UA Newcastle spent 250m last year. Follow them, or Liverpool, who spent 450m.

01 Jul 2026 13:13:15
Not my point, Ken. Would Anderson or Fernandez improve our midfield immediately? If your answer is yes, then should we not pay up? I am not advocating paying stupid money for mediocre players, but elite players demand a high price.

If you want to buy a Ferrari, you got to pay up. You cannot say I want a Ferrari but will pay only for a Toyota. Yes, we had a decent window last time, but did we not pay the sum that the sellers demanded?

01 Jul 2026 13:27:11
I understand UA. But Anderson didn't want to come to United nor did Fernandes. He would not commit to United.
As you say, we paid more than we wanted to pay in the summer for players because they chose us and committed to us. It appears to be a prerequisite, and I agree with it.
If players commit, it makes negotiations easier and more in our favour.
Mbeumo did it, Cunha did it, and Sesko did it.
Once we have that, we will have paid the price.
If players won't commit, then move on.


We need players that want to come here, and that's the acid test for any new recruits.
Fernandes and his agent looked for the best terms wherever they could get them. So the club was not important to them; the money was. Perhaps he didn't want to corner West Ham, who knows, but he didn't choose United.
We will pay the fees for the right player, but he has to commit and show desire to come to United before he ever pulls the jersey on.

01 Jul 2026 14:53:47
From the day Woodward took over until yesterday, we have never backed out of a deal over price or wages. We've had a free run at players, and overpaid on the fee and wages, which accumulates to the absolute mess we're trying to fix today.

It was never going to be easy to change the football world's perspective that United are idiots in the transfer market. But not folding to West Ham's and Fernandes's demands is a step in the right direction.

I am not knocking Spurs one bit here, as they've had to respond to two relegation battles in a row, but if reports are to be believed, they've just made Fernandes their top earner.

Now they're backed into a corner when signing any new players, and if their current squad has a good season, they're entitled to ask for similar wages.

We've been here many times, setting a precedent like this. 18-year-old Shaw was immediately in the top bracket of earners at the club.

Jose (Chelsea manager at the time) said that they might as well fold the club up if they paid a teenager that much.

We had Sanchez, who broke our wage structure, and caused a ripple effect we're still trying to fix.

Sancho was given ludicrous wages, and only as of today is he off our books. Varane and Casemiro were supposedly shocked when United offered what they did. Martial and Rashford are on huge wages, along with De Gea. All of these players left, or will leave, for free, all because United offered them wages so obscene no other club would come close to them.

Long story short, I'm actually quite pleased that we are acting like a proper club for once. Fernandes coming in on a higher salary than Mbeumo, Cunha, and Sesko wouldn't be great for the squad dynamics. Back-to-back relegations aside, he looks like a solid player, but there are plenty more fish in the sea.