Manchester United were one of the Premier League’s biggest spenders this summer, but Jeff Stelling believes that Ruben Amorim and the Red Devils have had a ‘poor’ transfer window for two reasons
Jeff Stelling claims Manchester United had a “poor” transfer window after failing to address major issues. That’s despite backing from the board and more than £200million spent on new signings like Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko.
Ruben Amorim’s efforts to bolster the squad he took over from Erik ten Hag have been deemed insufficient by Stelling, who holds the belief that the Red Devils have neglected their midfield and goalkeeping positions. The former host of Sky Sports Soccer Saturday told talkSPORT: “The two principal reasons why I think United have had a poor transfer window is that they needed to bring in someone with an engine in that midfield.
“I thought it was absolutely essential and they haven’t done so. Yes, they’ve got Kobbie Mainoo but he hasn’t got the sort of legs required to drive that midfield forward.”
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Mainoo’s time at Old Trafford this summer has been fraught with controversy. After being overlooked for Bruno Fernandes in the starting line-up, the young English talent was keen to leave the club on loan, reports the Manchester Evening News.
However, Amorim dismissed the idea, saying last month: “I want Kobbie to stay and he needs to fight for his place. We need Kobbie. That is not going to change. The players not playing with be disappointed but everyone will have opportunities. You have to fight in the week.”
Mainoo was eventually prevented from departing, yet the Red Devils made minimal efforts to bolster their veteran midfield. Despite prolonged speculation linking them with Carlos Baleba throughout the transfer window, Brighton’s eye-watering £100m valuation for the player remained beyond United’s reach for now, particularly after Amorim had allocated a substantial chunk of the club’s budget towards revamping the attack.
Nevertheless, Stelling also questioned the club’s decision to pursue 23-year-old goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who arrived at United in an £18.2m switch from Royal Antwerp on deadline day. While the Red Devils had been connected with Aston Villa’s unsettled Emiliano Martinez, they eventually settled on Lammens, who is nine years younger than the Argentine and represents a considerably more economical choice on paper.
Although he offers the advantage of youth to Amorim’s roster, he lacks the crucial Premier League know-how that 32-year-old Martinez possesses, considering his stellar performances for Villa across the last five years. And it’s precisely this experience that Stelling reckons could have proved invaluable moving forward.
He added: “And, they’ve gone for the cheap goalkeeper option. Lammens might turn out to be a fantastic goalkeeper but it’s a humungous step for him to go from playing for Royal Antwerp in front of 12,00 people in the Belgian league to huge crowds at Old Trafford. For me, Emi Martinez was the obvious choice for Manchester United.”
While Amorim claimed he was satisfied with his goalkeeping options earlier in the transfer window, the Portuguese boss appears to have since identified weaknesses in both Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana’s performances. Bayindir has started all three of United’s Premier League matches this campaign, and faced criticism following the Red Devils’ disappointing 1-0 opening day defeat to Arsenal.
The 27-year-old made a hash of clearing a corner kick, allowing Riccardo Calafiori to ghost in at the far post and net the winning goal. Meanwhile, Onana was given the nod during United’s Carabao Cup encounter with Grimsby Town last month, where he too was slated for mistakes that helped the League Two outfit establish a commanding 2-0 advantage before the interval.
Although strikes from Mbeumo and Harry Maguire levelled proceedings, they were eventually knocked out following a nail-biting penalty shoot-out. United have endured a patchy start to the league campaign with one victory, one defeat and one stalemate from their first three outings, and Amorim will surely be demanding a more spirited display when they return to action after the international break for the Manchester derby come Sunday, September 14.
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