Glazers force Ten Hag into a WRONG transfer decision
Robin Bairner
- 1 Sept 2023 08:58 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United’s decision to move for Tottenham defender Sergio Reguilon is simply the latest example of the Glazers holding back Erik ten Hag and his squad with their penny pinching.
The Old Trafford side have a crisis at left-back due to injuries to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, but it appeared that a solution had been found in the shape of Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella.
Instead, a slight difference over the loan fee between the Blues and Man Utd stalled the deal, paving the way for Ten Hag’s men to instead be railroaded into a move for Reguilon, a player who carries a great deal more risk. Cucurella, for the moment at least, has been forgotten.
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After all, the ideal solution to an injury crisis is not to sign a player who managed only 12 appearances while on loan for Atletico Madrid last season, in part due to injury problems. A hernia kept Reguilon on the sidelines for three months, while he was absent for a further six weeks later in the campaign after struggling with a hamstring problem.
Indeed, at nearly 27 years old, Reguilon has fewer than 150 top-level appearances to his name. There is a reason Spurs are so eager to offload him.
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Cucurella a more sensible option
Cucurella, who has the versatility to fill more roles than his compatriot, has had few of these problems. Prior to his ill-fated move to Chelsea last summer, he had played more than 30 top-fight league matches in four successive seasons, missing only two games in three campaigns.
On top of this, data analytics experts SciSports’ demonstrate that Cucurella is the superior player, having enjoyed a steady increase in his performance levels in recent years. Reguilon, meanwhile, is on the decline, although his injury problems do account for this to some degree.
Man Utd are banking on Reguilon returning to his peak, which arrived during 2021/22.
In this season, he ranked well among the Premier League’s full-backs, notably in an attacking sense. His crossing was third best among players in that sector, while he dribbled and passed well.
Furthermore, his defensive numbers closely mirrored those of Cucurella.
No doubt, there is a potential upside to a deal for Reguilon, but the risk is also greater.
At a time when Man Utd can barely afford to gamble, this feels like a needless roll of the dice from the Glazers.
