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So far, there have been two very different transfer windows for Manchester United and Liverpool.
Journalists James Pearce (The Athletic) and Rob Dawson (ESPN), who follow Liverpool and Manchester United respectively, sum up the state of the two archrivals.
– Liverpool have been very smart, thinks Pearce.
– Simply amazing. Something that should concern United, continues Dawson.
For the Solskjær transition window, the same superlatives are not obtained.
– Frustrating. At best, it fits well, says United correspondent Dawson before continuing:
That’s why Thiago refuses to touch the famous Anfield poster
– After third place last year, the next natural goal has been to get closer to Liverpool and Manchester City. Make the hole even the smallest. But as it looks now, they don’t buckle at all. On the contrary. Fans are rightly concerned that United will again fight to be in the top four instead of being able to give City and Liverpool a match at the top.
Desperate
Solskjær so far has only brought Donny van de Beek. Crystal Palace’s weak 1-3-loss season opener hasn’t made things any easier for United in the search for the next signings.
– United are weakened by the bad start. Now everyone knows that they are desperate to bring in players who can make the team stronger. While Liverpool are determined and have a clear strategy with their acquisitions, United makes it cumbersome and doesn’t seem to have a clear plan, says Pearce.
Nor do Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s statements in April that the pandemic allows the club to get into a situation that it can take advantage of in the transfer market, according to journalists.
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– I should not have said that. When you point out that the club has money, you may have to pay a little now, says Dawson.
– It was weird to say then. Yes, they’ve brought in Van de Beek, but if you look at the team’s weaknesses that cost them a lot last season, they haven’t really done anything about it so far, Pearce believes.
Higher risk
Dawson believes Manchester United’s situation will only get worse the closer it gets to Deadline Day on October 5.
– Now the panic begins to spread. Criteria established as important earlier this summer are now flying out the window. You run a greater risk in your purchases. You may have to settle for your second or third option, says Dawson, continuing:
– Solskjær is very clear about what kind of players he wants in the stable. They must be of a certain age and young enough to have great potential to develop at United. Of course, they must have certain qualities on the court, work hard and be good people to have in the locker room. They must really want to play for Manchester United. So that the salary becomes a kind of bonus. Above all, they must love football.
Dawson points out that it’s not necessarily that easy to build a new team with the right guys.
Current king for the town meeting
– There are probably more players that they would like to sell, but United have created problems for themselves by giving out a lot of huge salaries and good contracts, which makes it difficult to get rid of some players.
– Also, Ed Woodward, the director, believes that the club should automatically pay what he calls “United tax”, that is, an additional fee, extra high prices, extra high salaries, just because they are from Manchester United. This has been a problem for a long time and Solskjær is trying to overcome. But it probably doesn’t help what he said in April that United may be in a position where they can take advantage of the situation, says Dawson.
No more players entering Anfield
The United correspondent believes that United are simply not as good in the transfer market as the other major clubs. In any case, the outside world sees it that way.
You don’t have to look beyond an hour’s drive west on the M62 to find a competitor who seems to have mastered the transfer window very well.
Liverpool have reinforced the team with Thiago Alcântara, Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas.
– All in all, we have some incredibly good distributors. And Liverpool probably won’t change anymore now, predicts Pearce.
– Thiago in particular was a hit. Many people misunderstand a bit and think that Liverpool have opened the money bag and splashed with money, but it is not like that. For both Thiago and Jota, Liverpool have received an agreement in which they can spread the purchase price over several years and, therefore, not have to pay everything now at once. If Liverpool can sell the players they want before the window closes, which I believe in, the club will probably hit near zero on the net, Pearce says.
– Sir Alex Ferguson once said that it is more important to strengthen when you are already strong. Liverpool has it clear. Simply impressive, Dawson concludes.
