Focus is already beginning to shift toward the wisdom of Manchester United’s summer transfer activity, but could it be said that the club’s recent woes can actually be traced back to their recruitment from last year?
Cast your mind back to the end of the 2022/23 campaign, with the Red Devils in a strong position following an encouraging debut season under Erik ten Hag, having finished third in the Premier League and secured the Carabao Cup trophy – ending a six-year wait for silverware.
The climax of that season was far from perfect it must be said – with Ten Hag’s side losing in the FA Cup final, while also suffering a shock 7-0 defeat to rivals Liverpool – but solid building blocks had been put in place, with the aim of kicking on again heading into 2023/24. The Old Trafford side needed to get things right on the transfer front.
As it happened, the club splashed out £72m on a promising yet unproven striker in Rasmus Hojlund – who had scored just nine league goals the previous season for Atalanta – as well as forking out around £60m for Chelsea’s Mason Mount, despite the fact that the Englishman had just a year left on his contract and had been hampered by injury at Stamford Bridge.
Having also coughed up £47.2m on Andre Onana, after missing out on the chance to sign the Cameroonian on a free transfer just a year earlier, the club’s three major additions all provided more questions than answers, with Casemiro seemingly among those to have been left ‘disappointed’ by the status of the signings.
Onana, it must be said, has since come good and has even been deemed Ten Hag’s “most important player”, although the jury remains out on both Mount and Hojlund…
Mount and Hojlund's time at United
A former Champions League winner at Chelsea, Mount has endured a wretched start to life in Manchester, having repeatedly been struck down by injury over the past year or so.
Restricted to just 25 appearances in all competitions, the 25-year-old – who had been the subject of interest from the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal last summer – only has one goal and one assist to show for his efforts, with the decision to award him the club’s famed number seven shirt still a perplexing one.
As for Hojlund, there is greater reason for optimism as he ended last term as the club’s top scorer, although injuries have also been a factor in something of a stop-start stint thus far.
While ESPN’s Mark Ogden has, rather harshly, suggested that the young Dane is “nowhere near United level”, it is merely the case that the 21-year-old should never have been tasked with being the club’s main number nine, with a far more experienced recruit having been needed – both this summer, and last.
One that got away
The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.
Hindsight is of course a wonderful thing, but the Red Devils may be wishing they could turn back time and acquire two far more high-profile additions, ahead of Mount and Hojlund.
Who United should have signed instead of Mount & Hojlund
Ten Hag is often the target of blame for overseeing a questionable transfer approach, but by all accounts, that 2023 summer window did not go the way he had ideally desired.
For months leading up to the end of the season, it was obvious who the Dutchman wanted – Harry Kane.
Deemed to be United’s primary target to take on that centre-forward role, the England skipper looked destined to depart his beloved Tottenham Hotspur, after netting 280 goals in all competitions – including 213 Premier League goals.
With a year left on his contract, it looked to be an opportune time to strike, yet reports indicated that the Red Devils were wary of having to deal with Spurs’ stubborn owner Daniel Levy. Hojlund – who it is claimed was only Ten Hag’s ‘fifth-choice’ – was signed instead, and Kane ventured off to Bayern for £86m.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag’s side were also in search of fresh blood in the midfield ranks, with the ageing pairing of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen hardly a long-term fix.
Mount, as we know, was ultimately deemed to be the most astute pick, despite having spent much of his career operating on the flanks or in a number ten role, yet it was notably reported that Ten Hag was particularly keen on signing Declan Rice, prior to his £105m switch to Arsenal.
Whether United ever had much hope of sealing that deal is another matter, but as pundit Teddy Sheringham noted, the £191m duo are certainly players who legendary boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, would have “snapped up” during his time at the helm.
The 13-time title winner often sought to cherry-pick the best British talent from within the Premier League – namely Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand – and would no doubt have been at the front of the queue in the battle for both Kane and Rice.
As it is, the former has gone on to score 54 goals in just 54 games at Bayern, while his international colleague is now a key component of a title-chasing Gunners side, having even scored against United last season at the Emirates to rub further salt into the wounds.
Instead of perhaps even kicking on for a title challenge in 2023/24, backed by marquee signings of Kane and Rice, the Old Trafford side instead tumbled down the table, finishing eighth after their worst-ever Premier League campaign.
Stat (*per game)
Kane
Hojlund
Games
32
30
Goals
36
10
Assists
8
2
Big chances missed
27
13
Big chances created
13
0
Touches*
34.2
22.8
Shots*
4.6
1.3
Key passes*
1.0
0.2
Pass accuracy*
74%
77%
Ironically, United did actually claim more major silverware than either of the pair last season, amid their FA Cup triumph, although the Englishmen are operating at two clubs who will be at the front of the queue in the battle for domestic and European glory again this time around, while Ten Hag and co continue to sink further into the mire.
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