Manchester United will continue to be big spenders despite paying out a staggering £150million on new signings this summer.
Although
six players have arrived at Old Trafford — including Radamel Falcao and
Angel di Maria — United expect to be busy in the next few transfer
windows, according to senior club sources.
There
are concerns that Louis van Gaal’s squad still needs strengthening in
defence and midfield, and Roma’s Kevin Strootman has already been lined
up as a £25m target in January when the Holland star will have fully
recovered from a serious knee injury.
United will
not stop there as Van Gaal sets about reviving the fallen giants of
English football after a spectacular summer of spending.
Having
broken the British transfer record to sign Di Maria for £60m, United
pulled off a stunning deadline day deal for Falcao that could eventually
cost them another £52m. The Colombia striker celebrated by joining his
agent Jorge Mendes and other advisers for a Chinese meal in Manchester
city centre in the early hours of Tuesday morning after the initial £6m
loan move from Monaco went through well after the 11pm transfer
deadline.
‘We
were waiting until the last minute, but I didn’t lose my faith,’ said
Falcao. ‘I am very happy to be part of this big club — Manchester United
is the best team in England.’ United captain Wayne Rooney welcomed
Falcao’s arrival even though the two players could end up competing for a
place.
‘I obviously
don’t know how it could affect my role, that is something you’d have to
ask Louis van Gaal,’ he said. ‘But I think it’s a fantastic signing.
It’s a real sign of intent from Manchester United.’ The club off-loaded
several young British players as Danny Welbeck, Tom Cleverley, Michael
Keane, Nick Powell and Tom Lawrence left the club, and Sir Alex
Ferguson’s former assistant Mike Phelan yesterday questioned the
direction the club had taken.
‘They
have probably lost the way of Manchester United a little bit,’ said
Phelan. ‘Someone like a Danny Welbeck has been part of United’s
identity. That has been broken.’
Cleverley’s loan move to Aston Villa was not ratified by the Premier League until Tuesday.
The England midfielder was set to join Villa for £7.5m until Everton tried to hijack the move.
Villa
were then granted a two-hour extension to resurrect a loan deal for
Cleverley after submitting a ‘deal sheet’ before the 11pm deadline. The
document, signed by both clubs and the player, is an agreement in
principle which gives all parties time to complete the formalities.
The Premier League board approved the deal on Tuesday.
Robin
van Persie also dismissed as ‘total nonsense’ speculation that he may
require knee surgery. He told Fox Sports NL: ‘I can say with my hand on
my heart that I won’t be in a hospital to have the operation.’
No comments:
Post a Comment