Manchester United can avoid more costly transfer mistakes with new approach

Man Utd are taking a diligent approach to recruitment this summer and have a long list of potential targets to work from.

There might be frustration amongst some Manchester United supporters that their club has so far been thwarted in this transfer window, deciding the fees to compete for Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes didn't represent value in this market.

In an era when 'winning the window' is often considered as important as winning the football, pulling out of the competition for two midfielders who sign for rival clubs because you don't like the fees involved will always attract some criticism.

United decided the £116million for Anderson didn't suit their budget in a summer when they are looking to sign as many as three midfielders, and then felt the £85million for Fernandes was too much for a player of potential, but one who is far from the finished article.

On the face of it, those look like sensible decisions, even if it means the midfield rebuild is still struggling to get off the ground. Ederson will likely wrap up his move to Old Trafford this week, but beyond that, there has been no big-name signing.

United do have plenty of potential targets, however, and that is a sea change from their previous approach in the window. Alex Scott, Carlos Baleba, Aurelien Tchouameni, Felix Nmecha, Andrey Santos and Sander Berge are all players who have been monitored this summer.

The approach to draw up a long list of targets thanks to United's increased focus on data, allied with their belief in the systems being used at the club, means there is no panic to land your top target, or in the case of midfield, even your second target.

If United sign a combination of two of the players mentioned above, it will still likely be a good window and a successful midfield overhaul. There is no sense of panic within the club.

It's certainly difficult to imagine this football structure - with Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox pulling the strings, Christopher Vivell, an experienced figure in recruitment and Michael Sansoni's team pulling the strings on the data - committing some of the mistakes United have made in recent seasons.

In Erik ten Hag's first summer, they wanted a right-winger, but became fixated on the idea of signing Antony from Ajax. He was the player Ten Hag wanted, and the club were willing to deliver him. Ajax CEO and former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar said they challenged United "to go as far as possible", and instead of walking away, those in charge of transfers accepted the challenge.

They went to a staggering £85.5million for Antony, and Ajax had no choice but to accept because the "fee got so high", as Van der Sar said. It proved to be a terrible bit of business.

The signing of Rasmus Hojlund wasn't as disastrous, but again, the Dane was the only striker United wanted in 2023, and as a result, Atalanta played them perfectly. That deal for a fee of £64million, with a further £8million in add-ons, was agreed at 3am in the morning after direct talks between the two clubs, but it came just days after one Old Trafford official had said there was no chance they would pay more than £60million.

Those are just two deals that simply wouldn't happen now. Neither represented good value, and this version of United would have had alternative targets to move on to.

Perhaps Anderson and Fernandes will go on to be successful for City and Spurs, but the examples of Antony and Hojlund show that spending big money and pushing the boat out on signings isn't always a guarantee.

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