MANCHESTER UNITED’S transfer stance helped them pay below asking price for all but one of their summer acquisitions.
The Red Devils secured the services of five senior stars this summer, spending north of £180million to bolster Erik ten Hag‘s options.
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It was the first summer window for United under the ownership of Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and the billionaire Brit put together a group of “Avengers” to make sure their business went smoothly.
Ratcliffe worked alongside CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox to bring in their new signings.
And their resolute stance on asking prices meant they only paid full whack for Leny Yoro, according to ESPN.
That means that Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte were all snapped up for a relative steal in United’s books.
According to ESPN’s report, their stance in their negotiations to sign Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite ultimately helped them negotiate their other deals.
United had been quoted £75m for Branthwaite, a player they valued at around £60m, and after unfruitful negotiations decided to walk away from the inflated price tag.
It’s claimed that United’s stance on Branthwaite was used directly in negotiations with PSG over the move for Manuel Ugarte.
PSG were hoping for a fee of nearly £10m more than what United ultimately paid, with the Old Trafford club referencing their decision to walk away from the Branthwaite deal as an example of what could happen if PSG were firm on their price.
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Ultimately the Parisians were reluctant to keep hold of a player that they didn’t want, and dropped their asking price to meet United’s valuation.
Yoro, 18, represented a different kind of signing as one of the most highly rated young defenders in world football and Man Utd allowed themselves to fork out for the Frenchman.
It’s reported that Omar Berrada was the man who set the price tags with Ashworth and director of football negotiations Matt Hargreaves handling the bulk of the discussions with clubs and players.
Berrarda, via ESPN, said: “We were quite disciplined about the valuations we were giving to the players who were going to come in.
“We stuck to those valuations. The reason I mention that is if you make a mistake and overspend, or get a player who can cost you too much, it can set you back.”
United know plenty about overpaying for their stars after forking out £86m on flop Antony, and a further £60m on an ageing Casemiro in recent seasons.
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Man Utd entered negotiations for Ajax winger Antony expecting to pay a £40m fee, but as talks dragged on the Dutch side were successful in more than doubling the price.
The Red Devils’ team of execs had to shift on some players this summer to allow for their incomings too – Mason Greenwood, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Scott McTominay being the three high profile exits.
Jadon Sancho also left to join Chelsea in a loan-to-buy deal.
And sporting director Ashworth explained that, as frustrating as it is to lose homegrown talent, it can ultimately be beneficial for the club as a whole.
He said: “Sometimes you have to be quite brave and make decisions that maybe you don’t want to make
“But you can’t have a bloated squad, and you’re also dealing with players that ultimately want to play football.
“So you want to make sure that the squad is lean, but you have enough depth.
“The financial rules have, unintentionally, made it slightly more attractive to sell players with a ‘zero-book’ value.
“which is consequently either players you sign on a free or players that come through your system.”
Now United want to build on what they have done this summer with more additions – but not on the pitch.
ESPN claim that the club are looking to add “further expertise and knowledge” in the form of appointments around Ashworth and Wilcox.
United hope that those arrivals will ultimately lead to more consistent success in the transfer market.
