Manchester United fans are used to poor transfer windows. From the most recent one in 2026, to the infamous blunders under David Moyes in 2013, it has become routine.
Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag shone a light on some of the club’s recent poor transfer dealings with his attempt to explain the move for Antony. United splashed out more than £80 million to sign the Brazilian in 2022, paying more than double the price he was valued at the start of the year.
Ten Hag blamed United’s move for Antony on the Jadon Sancho problem he inherited: “Sancho didn’t want to play on the right side; he said that. Which was very weird; he played often on the right. He said he felt more comfortable on the left. So there we had an issue, and we were late.”
The move for Jadon Sancho was an absolute disaster.
United paid £73 million for Sancho in 2021 and ended up releasing him in 2026. Between September 2023 and 2026 he did not play a single Premier League game for the club.
But really, the Sancho damage began before he had even kicked a ball for the club.
An obsession with signing the player ended up hurting the club in three separate windows. And for that – management and higher-ups must take the blame.
2020
After qualifying for the Champions League, Manchester United spent the majority of the transfer window chasing Jadon Sancho and failing to sign him. By the time we reached the transfer deadline, the only player signed was Donny van de Beek. A late flurry of deals followed, with United’s focus on signing Sancho the following year.
2021
United struck early to sign Jadon Sancho for £73 million, with the deal viewed as a bargain compared to Dortmund’s asking price the previous summer. Hindsight shows it was a vast overpay.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer pushed for the signing of Sancho when he needed a central midfielder. And to make matters worse, he was not aligned with Sancho on his best position – planning to play him on the right when the winger preferred to play on the left.
Sancho had a horrendous first season at the club, and Solskjaer was fired by November.
2022
As Erik ten Hag explained, United’s need to sign Antony came because £73 million Sancho did not want to play on the right wing.
But with Marcus Rashford an established starter at the time on the left wing, there was no obvious space for Sancho. So United compounded the matter by splashing £80 million on Antony. It is a comedy of errors that is no laughing matter for any United fan.
Sancho at fault, but Solskjaer, Woodward and Arnold must share blame
United’s obsession with signing Jadon Sancho ended up casting a shadow over three summer transfer windows. And it might have been worthwhile if he had become the game-changing star he was cracked up to be. But instead he was a total flop, scoring only 12 goals in three seasons.
But there were major strategic errors made by signing him.
United could have signed Raphinha or Michael Olise for a fraction of the price in 2020 or 2021, two of the games best wingers.
Solskjaer pushed for his signing, in the belief he could utilise him on the right, and also convinced that he would be a superstar. Ed Woodward focused in on signing him like he was chasing Gareth Bale in 2013.
By 2022, Richard Arnold was in charge, and he was blindly pursuing Erik ten Hag’s most wanted players. He was reeled in by Ajax in the Antony chase, and probably would have paid £100 million if they had asked him to.
The transfer mistakes continue into 2026 under Ineos, but this saga from 2020-2022 deserves it’s own chapter in the post-Ferguson era of transfer calamities.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/tzwhLIJ