Doling out undeserved contracts has succeeded in lowering the standards, making players unsellable and inflating wages at Man United. They can make a clean break this year.
The ludicrously lofty fee Manchester United received for Daniel James from Leeds was so impressive it merited a mention on Ed Woodward’s last conference call.
United stand to make a 100% profit on James, bought for £15million up front and sold for a fee rising to £30m. Remarkably, he is the joint-fourth highest sale in United’s history, level with David Beckham and behind only Angel di Maria, Romelu Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo.
That rundown of sales across 17 years and four managers cuts Woodward a shred of slack amid ongoing criticism of United in the seller’s market. While United browse boutiques they seem to forget to set up their own stall and stand to lose tens of millions this year.
There is the undeniable mitigation of the Covid-19 pandemic which has scuppered a transfer for Paul Pogba in the last two summers. Clubs were, by and large, patient and frugal in the summer and Newcastle are dominating the current window by throwing money at the problem of relegation.
Woodward was relaxed about Pogba’s situation a little over two years ago, citing the one-year extension United were yet to trigger. That has only delayed the inevitable; a free transfer to bookend the free transfer Pogba secured from United a decade ago.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s indecision and sentimentalism lulled Jesse Lingard into a false sense of security. You could not quite tell if Solskjaer was maintaining Lingard’s resale value or considered him a genuine squad asset when he spoke glowingly about him at the start of pre-season. Turns out Solskjaer did not know, either. Lingard has been left in limbo, still without a Premier League start for United since New Year’s Day in 2020.
A forthright director of football would have overruled Solskjaer: ‘he turns 29 in December, he’s not started in the league in 18 months, we’ve got ample attackers, we’re signing Sancho, and he’s out of contract in under 12 months. We’re selling.’
Lingard felt misled by Solskjaer and he was not the only United player. Diogo Dalot was never outright told he was second-choice right-back when, to anyone outside the Carrington fortress, he was.
The players were mystified by Solskjaer selecting James over Lingard two days before his sale at Wolves and expressed sympathy for Donny van de Beek, ostensibly an impeccable trainer yet starter of two league matches in 2021 – both in May and both meaningless exercises in rotation.
If James could command £25m in the summer then Lingard, a cleverer footballer with better pedigree, was eminently sellable. West Ham welcomed Nikola Vlasic for £25.7m on deadline day. Lingard continues to slide into West Ham’s DMs on Instagram but the expectation is he will see out the season at United.
Should Anthony Martial have as remotely a productive time on loan then United have to strike while the iron is hot and sell – unless Solskjaer’s permanent successor intends to start Martial regularly.
Decisiveness is also essential with Dean Henderson, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Axel Tuanzebe, and Donny van de Beek. It is time to cut the cord with Andreas Pereira. If United are to recruit an all-action full-back, then just jettisoning Brandon Williams would not suffice, although Aaron Wan-Bissaka would not get into the Newcastle team.
The contracts of Lingard, Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, Lee Grant, and Tahith Chong (he is listed in the first-team section on the club website) expire in June and the only one with the option of an additional year is Chong, whose last competitive outing for United was in August 2020.
It would be senseless to even try and keep any of them. Lingard does not get a look-in and Pogba planned on leaving United halfway through his six-year deal. He has shown no inclination to sign a renewal and remains a mercurial midfielder.
From Pogba’s perspective, he has wasted his peak years at United, collecting only League Cup and Europa League winners medals. United are still also-rans in the Premier League and not considered serious contenders for the Champions League. Whatever happens between now and May, there is no logical incentive for the player to stay or for the club to even try and keep Pogba.
The Pogbas have enjoyed their residency in Cheshire and Pogba has no regrets about rejoining United, having initially preferred to move to Real Madrid in 2016 until his puppeteer Mino Raiola advised otherwise. Pogba turns 29 in March and spending his 30s in Spain (his wife, Zulay, hails from Spanish-speaking Bolivia) or back in Turin with Juventus appeals. Pogba’s eldest son starts school next year and his education will be factored into the decision.
Mata is 33 and Cavani 34. Both celebrate birthdays before the expiry date of their deals and the last existing United outfield player aged 34 or above to receive an entirely new contract was Michael Carrick. Mata may end his eight-year service before the winter window shuts, having not had a kick in the league this term. The 38-year-old Grant’s renewed contract was as fatuous as Mike Phelan’s.
United cannot go a year without an incongruous renewal, though: Bailly, Pereira, Jones, Rojo, Smalling. It has boosted the assets sheet but made certain players unsellable and inflated the wages. Seeing Pogba, Lingard, Sergio Romero and Ander Herrera go for no transfer fee is bad business.
Remunerating certain players made them lax (Martial, Lindelof, De Gea) and that comfortable culture accounts for United’s malaise. The next manager would walk through the double-glass doors at Carrington in an enviable position to find the decks cleared.
An obese squad is about to undertake a much-needed diet. Just don’t expect many profits.
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