The three Man Utd transfers to collapse over the last week
Karan Tejwani
- 16 Aug 2022 14:52 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United are entering the final weeks of the window on the back of two-straight league defeats and insufficient business done so far.
The Red Devils will have to step up their activity to bolster their squad – the losses against Brighton and Brentford proved the squad is inadequate for Ten Hag’s needs.
Over the last week, the club have pursued several players, but are yet to complete a signing, with Juventus’ Adrien Rabiot seemingly the closest.
It’s been a difficult week for the club, as they’ve been rejected by a host of others, turned down by clubs or cancelled moves themselves.
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What deals have Man Utd attempted in the last week?
Immediately after the loss to Brighton last Sunday, Manchester United targeted
Marko Arnautovic, with Erik ten Hag keen on his work-rate, having witnessed it first-hand at Twente.
The club were keen to bring him to Old Trafford, however, they were outpriced by Bologna, and fans themselves weren’t keen on the player due to his discriminatory comments in the past, forcing the club to back out.
Another player Manchester United have missed out in the last week is Antony, the Ajax winger that’s greatly admired by Ten Hag having done so well under him over the last few years in Amsterdam.
Manchester United have been chasing him all summer, but were outpriced by Ajax, who want about €80 million for him, something the English club are unwilling to pay.
It was then reported by the reliable De Telegraaf of the Netherlands that Antony was comfortable in Amsterdam and wants to stay at Ajax for the upcoming season.
De magie van Antony 🪄🤩#ajagro pic.twitter.com/RW5XKgEJ8A
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) August 15, 2022
Ten Hag has also been keen on bringing over Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona, having started negotiations in May, agreed a fee in July, but they are unable to get the deal done due to the player wanting his wages from the Catalans.
De Jong is owed wages from a contract agreement signed in October 2020, and that is holding the deal up, and earlier this week, it was reported that Manchester United’s fee agreement with Barcelona had expired.
The club are still optimistic about getting the deal over the line, and Barcelona are still keen to sell as they need to improve their financial condition.
Approaching the final weeks of the window, United still have to strengthen in plenty of areas, and will have to work quickly if they are to improve their squad for the rest of the season.
