After Antony, Jadon Sancho is Bryan Mbeumo another recipe for disaster at Manchester United?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "After Antony, Jadon Sancho is Bryan Mbeumo another recipe for disaster at Manchester United?")
After Antony, Jadon Sancho is Bryan Mbeumo another recipe for disaster at Manchester United? Photograph: (AFP)
With Bryan Mbeumo's move imminent, Manchester United’s latest transfer deal has raised more questions than answers as they refrained from signing proven targets like Viktor Gyökeres and Victor Osimhen.
Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo is all set to make a sensational switch to Manchester United as the Red Devils splurge in excess of $80 million on the striker. With the move imminent, United’s latest transfer deal has raised more questions than answers as they refrained from signing proven targets like Viktor Gyökeres and Victor Osimhen. As the deal is close to getting wrapped, let’s take a detailed look at United’s transfer policy and how it has fared.
Rejected chance to sign Erling Haaland in 2019
Manchester United were one of the clubs that were keeping tabs on Erling Haaland and were also the front-runners to sign him at one point, owing to the player’s relationship with the then-manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Haaland had played under Solskjaer at Molde and flourished under him, scoring 20 goals in 50 matches as a teenager.
United rejected the chance to sign him, and he was later snapped up by arch-rivals Manchester City in 2022, helping the club win a historic treble of Champions League, Premier League and the FA Cup.
Antony, Jadon Sancho recipe for disaster
With Real Madrid signing Jude Bellingham and Man City getting Haaland from Borussia Dortmund, it was fair to say that Sancho was also in the same footsteps. However, the English forward has been a shadow of his performance at the German side, spending time away from the first team after a fallout with then-manager Erik ten Hag and a couple of loan moves, including one to Chelsea last season. He is well known for his fallout with Ten Hag rather than for his attacking play, raising questions marks on the transfer policy.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
While Sancho’s move in 2021 was bad, the worst was yet to come for the Red Devils. Splashing nearly $90 million, Tan Hag signed Antony from Ajax with high expectations, but he never really lived up to expectations. Interestingly, he was more expensive than Haaland, with both singing in the same window but with different Manchester clubs.
ALSO READ | Ravindra Jadeja only player from 2014 Manchester Test vs England and he was India's worst batter
Does Mbeumo's move make any sense for United?
The Cameroonian has so far scored 46 Premier League goals and only once has he scored more than 10 goals in a season. He scored 20 goals in the Premier League last season, attracting United’s interest in the player. It is no hiding that United are yet to properly replace Wayne Rooney, a proven, consistent 20-goal striker in a season; much blame goes to the board members.
Cristiano Ronald’s brief return in 2021-22 did give the side some relief, but the side has largely struggled to bring in a proper No.9.
Currently, United’s only proper No.9 option is Rasmus Hojlund, costing more than $70 million in 2023. However, he too has struggled with form, scoring 14 Premier League goals in the last two seasons.
