31 Aug 2026 16:31:32
The club needed to buy a LB and Striker and here we are circa 24 hours to the end of the window. No doubt the Glazer parasites are rubbing their hands with glee at the expected dividends for next year whilst a few of the supporters on here cheer them on and make excuses. Maybe the Glaxer apologists on here have selected where they want their 30 pieces of silver depositing.
If Hall and Osimhen sign tomorrow I would expect a run at the top spot, even with Carrick.
Yet that isn’t the aim. The aim clearly seems to be to spend the minimum to get CL football cash again.
24 hours to prove me wrong about what I said all summer.
Thing is I find myself posting like RainfishTrombone/iamKloot did all those years ago. People ridiculed him yet we haven’t won the league since and I can’t see it again until we get the Glazers and their debt out. 24 hours.
31 Aug 2026 18:02:24
Sorry, but that just seems wrong to me. My guess is that Carrick and Wilcox had their targets, but they just weren't available, or were for stupid amounts, or the players chose different clubs.
No point paying over the odds for a player who may not be that much better than we already have, or who just wants a huge payday.
I'm happy we are no longer paying over the odds for players. Maybe the "Utd tax" can be lost. Maybe that now is passed on to Spurs.
If we have to wait for eg Hall til next season, so be it. How many outstanding left backs can you think of who are/were available?
Regarding a striker, again, how many top top strikers are there? Even Arsenal haven't signed one yet, and if they do get Alvarez he will cos a fortune in transfer fees and wages....
and he really only wants Barca.
I would try to get Osimen, but the fee and huge wages are probably the reason we haven't gone for him. Tony is another I would like, but again he will be on huge wages. Signing players on such wages causes another Rashford-like problem.
Who else has signed a top top striker? I think Villa have got a good one in Jackson, but let's see how good he is.
So overall, I don't think the problem is all down to the owners.
31 Aug 2026 18:09:05
Salford,
If they need specific players, as clearly they do, why are you arguing over the cost? The club can afford both profiles, and if they want to win the league, it's something they have to do.
31 Aug 2026 18:45:34
Last I heard was that Hall is not for sale. So that's not an option this window.
I've been calling for Oshiman for a few years now. There is a lot of well documented baggage with him, no top club has ever gone in for him, but sure why.
He would still be my choice, with the limited knowledge I have. He is a real handful and scored goals.
His wages would be a problem, I'd imagine.
Personally, I think I'd rather a lb and cb before a striker in the last 24 hrs.
I see the argument for a striker, but unless Zirkzee goes there is no space.
If Zirkzee does leave then a striker must come in, imo.
I suspect a loan striker could come in if Zirkzee goes.
31 Aug 2026 19:31:41
I think we have to bring in the new player, and the old player will leave or sit in reserves. There is a total lack of ambition from Zirkzee, but he is given hope because there is no second striker in his way. You cannot force players out, so you cannot wait for a player to leave to trigger new purchases.
You end up with Zirkzee and Rashford holding the club to ransom.
We should really all be concerned with how little we get for sales. It really is disgusting. Collier had a stint in the first team and looked okay. The fee for him is ridiculous.
31 Aug 2026 19:50:18
Redman
If they had targets who weren't available for sale, then they can't help that. You haven't given any top alternatives we could have or should now sign.
As good as Hall is, I don't think he is worth the 75m + which would probably be needed to get him, and Newcastle aren't desperate for money now.
I agree, Ken, re Osimen. He would be my choice, but it does make you wonder, with his goal return, why no other top team hasn't snapped him up.
Re Collier, it's a low upfront fee, but I read that there is a hefty sell on fee and buyback clause.
If he does well at WBA, it's to Utds benefit, and he wasn't good enough right now to get into our midfield ahead of the five others in front of him. Seems a sensible deal to me.
Seems to me the club are being realistic. Improving each part of the team when they can, and not going for short term fixes. If we consolidate our league position this season, and do well in the cup competitions, then we will be more attractive to players next year.
31 Aug 2026 20:55:40
Never been a fan of Osimhen. Inconsistent first touch. I think he has a good but not great goalscoring record without the penalties, and that is in less physical and strong leagues like Turkey and Italy before. He picks up some injuries too, and believes his own hype based on the wages he asks.
No wonder no big team took him, even though there is a shortage of top strikers in the market. A very problematic and arrogant character without the talent to back it.
31 Aug 2026 21:46:16
This is the transfer spend per club. Chelsea are out in front, but will be overtaken by City if the Enzo transfer goes through tomorrow.
When Ipswich have spent more than us, and we have more games, will the lack of investment prove crucial as the season goes on?
1 Chelsea.
£340.4m
2 Man City. £332.5m
3 Tottenham. £304.5m
4 Newcastle. £221.8m
5 Liverpool. £212.5m
6 Arsenal. £205.0m
7 Aston Villa. £183.9m
8 Ipswich. £174.7m
9 Man Utd. £159.7m
10 Coventry. £122.4m
31 Aug 2026 22:18:11
Why are so many fans caring about not spending too much on a player?! I don't get it.
I can kind of understand if the club thinks we want 7 signings, so we need to think about what we spend on each one, but we haven't.
Our spending has been pathetic.
All the cuts the club has made, and now the cuts are to transfers.
31 Aug 2026 22:26:54
I like him, Heaven, but I'm also aware of the significant baggage stories, so there are issues in that regard.
I'm never afraid of a bit of madness in the team as long as they deliver on the pitch. I think all our best teams had their fair share of oddballs and head cases that came together to deliver.
He's played in winning teams and played his part. At 27, he's young enough to flip on at 29 or 30 if he gets itchy feet, but he might like it here if he and we do well.
He is the type of player the United fans warm to, imo. He works hard for the team in every game I've seen him, and the opposing cb's always know they've been in a game. Decent finisher.
However, if the baggage is not worth the risk, which appears to be the case, then so be it.
31 Aug 2026 23:03:06
The club needs to deliver a better team. If one option is not available, then move on to the next. Lammens came in, and has done great. I think, as fans, we should expect a team that is better than last year.
CM has been addressed, but the reason it was so desperate was due to lack of investment last 2 windows, knowing Casemiro was leaving and Ugarte was looking poor. Ugarte's injury was a shock, but surely he was not going to play a key role this year for Carrick.
Leftback looks an area of weakness, and playing Cunha and Mbuemo at striker is also not good enough for a team looking to challenge across all comps. We should expect these areas are addressed as a minimum.
With Mount, Bruno, Amad, Mbuemo, Cunha, Zirkzee, Rashford, Dorgu, Lacey (as well as Mainoo and Tielemans), we seem to have too many winger/number 10 type players, with only Sesko as an out and out striker.
It would have made more sense to me if we had tried Rashford at striker in these first games or pre season. But he has hugged the touchline very much as a wide winger.
In a season, you should expect injuries. You should also expect to need to sub off option A and try option B to change the game. Not having 2 strikers is frankly ridiculous for this club. We have a squad imbalance that means we will see lots of Cunha and Mbuemo playing at 9. I hope it works.
No one wants panic buys. We want a competent management team that delivers results. I hope they know what they are doing. If we finish top 3, win a cup and have a good showing in the UCL, then I will be the first to say they do and that waiting for the right signings only was the right choice. If this doesn't work, many will question what they are doing.
01 Sep 2026 00:44:59
But, Dodgy, what if the players they identified were just not available, like Hall seems not to be? I can't think of one top top striker who has moved this window. No point buying for the sake of it.
I would rather we saved the war chest til somebody gettable was available.
01 Sep 2026 01:41:35
If the targets we had weren't available, we should have targeted players who were. If we knew that we weren't going to be prepared to pay the going rate for our targets, we shouldn't have targeted players who were in high demand, or players we knew could be purchased for bargain bin prices.
Whilst I do think the three midfielders we've brought in are pretty decent, the failure to secure a left back and a backup striker this far (who, given Sesko's injury record as of late, may well end up being our main striker) is unforgivable.
01 Sep 2026 01:53:11
I never rated him that much, Ken. I never wanted him near our team. I prefer to go with Cunha as striker instead of him. I can't stand him. On the back of a good (or a couple) seasons at Napoli, he asked for about 500-600 thousand a week. He is not that good; I suspect in England he would be average.
01 Sep 2026 04:35:51
Rashford never wanted to play CF and told Carrick as much too.
We seriously needed a striker and a CB, but for me we also needed midfielders to start and improve us. I don't think we got that with Santos or Tielemans, they are OK players but won't set the world alight.
OK, keep blaming the Glazers but SJR apparently runs all the football side and he is skin flint and the one who is penny pinching all over the club, including the team on the pitch. Look at the problems at Nice.
All those that think it's good spending virtually nothing, let's see how you feel when we struggle for 4th every year, maybe get semis of domestic cups and get nowhere in CL. This team is no better this year than last, I would argue in fact it's worse. Now the only 1 striker we got is all potential and injured a lot for a youngster too.
Midfield is weaker without Cass.
Shaw got slower and another year older, so possible more injuries. Martinez and Delight, along with McGuire, the same and all slower.
This is not a great team by any means, but it's ok we spent no money and we got loads of potential. Jeez how the mighty have fallen.
01 Sep 2026 07:44:01
Big day ahead. Let's judge at 11pm tonight. Lots of big clubs with lots of work to do today. I'm not sure on the logic of football clubs as to why they do this, but it seems an industry norm.