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LONDON. — Manchester City got Erling Haaland and Liverpool got Darwin Nunez.
Manchester United, having lost at home to Brighton for the first time in their history, are now having a second swing at recruiting 33-year-old Marko Arnautovic. He could partner Cristiano Ronaldo in a front two with a combined age of 70.
Still, there’s plenty of room for optimism at Manchester United. That’s the problem. Call it the Ed Woodward effect. Nobody sees the worst happening.
They think being Manchester United is all it needs. That they will always be the market leaders because all they know is the market. Yet, increasingly, even their trusted commercial partners see through this.
TeamViewer, the name on the shirt, have already served notice that they will not be extending their deal when it expires in 2026, just 18 months into the contract.
Players, and their agents, no longer respond breathlessly to United’s calls. And yet, despite years of under-achievement, nobody saw this coming.
Woodward believed it was United’s place to make the biggest signings in English football and never imagined a day when this would require more than a fluttering of the eyelashes. United were not in the results business, they were simply in business and very good at it. And he thought that would always be enough.
Yet when Haaland became available, United were never in the contest. They gave up on Nunez because, once Liverpool were interested, they knew they could not compete. The same with Luis Diaz. And this isn’t about money because United pay good money. This is about them, where they stand, what the future holds.
Paul Pogba joined Manchester United when they were in the Europa League because it was considered a strictly temporary displacement which he would help correct. We now know that was wrong. United are a Europa League club still, top six, not top four, and Woodward was incorrect too, it did matter.
So as this season starts as the last ended — in defeat, the first time this has occurred since ending 1972-73 losing to Chelsea and starting 1973-74 by going down 3-0 at Arsenal — United remain on the periphery of the elite. — Mailonline
Online Reporter