There was a clamour during the summer for Manchester United to sign Sofyan Amrabat and Erik ten Hag got his way.
However, the warning signs were there around Sofyan Amrabat. After such an encouraging winter World Cup with his nation in Qatar, nobody took a punt on the 27-year-old midfielder.
Barcelona, according to the Daily Mail, held an interest in the midfielder but couldn’t afford to take him permanently and Fiorentina would not sanction a loan.
However, the Italian side eventually did agree a loan deal to Manchester United on summer deadline day which was initially seen as a coup, but that hasn’t proven to be the case so far.
Amrabat must earn move
The United hierarchy did not prioritise a move for the Moroccan, waiting until the very last minute.
Corriere Dello Sport’s print version gave the clearest indication yet of United’s stance on the former FC Utrecht midfielder. The Italian report stated that Ten Hag was pushing for the signing of the Moroccan but United were not as keen. Surprisingly, however, the club changed their mind, perhaps inspired by a woeful start to the season.
Well, a few months into his loan deal, the midfielder hasn’t exactly lit up Old Trafford since his deadline-day move.
The Red Devils had to spend £8.5 million to have him on loan for the season with a further £21 million needed to make it permanent according to Sky Sports.
Amrabat, as harsh as it sounds, does not look like anything more than a steady midfield signing. He doesn’t offer ball progression in the middle of the park and isn’t the most agile of midfielders either, not yet at least.
He was shrugged off the ball by Joelinton during Newcastle United’s third goal in the 3-0 demolition at Old Trafford, it hasn’t been comfortable for him at all.
An injury to Casemiro will give Amrabat more chances. He needs to make it count, there is a lot riding on it, for him and for Erik ten Hag, and for Manchester United.
Ten Hag’s influence
If the former Ajax boss was to remain at Old Trafford for the foreseeable future then the power he currently wields on transfers needs to be taken away from him.
He has been proven right with the deal to sign Lisandro Martinez but at the moment the Argentine is the only example of this method working and even that is under scrutiny due to his injury.
The Dutchman in his career has never had this much power and influence over deals. Certainly, in his time at Ajax, he had Marc Overmars as a director with Edwin Van der Sar as CEO.
At United, the 53-year-old does not have that stable structure behind him and has essentially been told he has carte blanche to decide who the club sign.
However, no matter how good you are as a manager, having full control over recruitment never works out.
Even Jurgen Klopp doesn’t have this influence in the market at Liverpool, otherwise, the Anfield side may have ended up with Julian Brandt rather than Mohammed Salah according to talkSPORT.
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