The Transfer Window has shut. The lines in the sand have been drawn. The euphemistic ego measuring competition for the summer is finally over. No lingering doubts remain over who United may sign, or just how much money Chelsea can spend while somehow neglecting the existence of Financial Fair Play. As everyone expected, the summer transfer window is a few nukes short of an all-out arms race between the who’s who of European football. The Scousers bought a whole new midfield, Arsenal splurged on Rice, and City somehow re-tooled. In a world where every contender in the Prem got better, just how well did United do at recruiting reinforcements?
Lucky for you, I have graded every incoming United player with a totally reasonable, and definitely realistic expectation for their whole career as a Red Devil. My proprietary grading system is nothing more than the player’s price, performance in a United shirt, expected utility, and my own hopes and dreams.
Mason Mount
Mason Mount was, and maybe still is, as controversial a talent as possible. He had a Mickey Mouse Champions League winner a few years ago, and a fairly mundane career since then. At 24 years old, Mount is just about to hit his prime and still has many years ahead of him in a United shirt. He is a first team starter, but has yet to show true world class quality. At over $60 million from a rival with less than a year on his contract, I dare say it’s trending towards overpaying. His fellow Chelsea reject Havertz, went for around the same price with more years on his deal to Arsenal for reference. I’m high on Mount’s athleticism and fitness, but has he lost the “It” factor from his past couple years at Chelsea?
Grade: C+
Andre Onana
I’m going to keep this one short, because the simple majority of United fans agree with me. It sucked watching De Gea leave with no real proper sendoff, but Onana is a noticeable upgrade in the changing trajectory of football. His ball-playing and composure is up with the two rival Brazilians’, and his off the field confidence and demeanor is un-shaken. At ~$50 million, he seems like a well priced GK having just come off a fairly coherent Champions League Final display just a few short months ago. Ten Hag reunites with his Cameroonian from Ajax, and looks poised to challenge for the Golden glove this year.
Grade: A
Rasmus Holjund
Our new baby-faced Dane. Holjund has come into the team after a pretty good season in Italy for a 19 year old. Rather unfortunately, I think this move to United came too soon for his personal development. I could be wrong, but I can only imagine the pressure of playing professional football being magnified playing for a team like United. I think he is already being pressured as his stress fractures have already healed (or not) and he’s in the squad for Arsenal. All of this feels rushed, especially for a ~$70 million dollar asset. He doesn’t get a say in what he’s worth, but this feels lofty. Surely United have knocked it out of the park whenever they shell out over 70 million, right?
Grade: B
Sergio Reguilon
Deadline day business after Luke Shaw has at least a month long absence, and Tyrell Malacia has an unknown injury that has kept him out for since the summer. My only guess is it’s more serious than not. Going out and getting a left-back on loan only confirms my theory that United won’t have 2 healthy left-backs for a majority of the calendar year. None of this is Reguilon’s fault, but he has become somewhat of a second thought in Spur’s defensive planning. Covering all of his wages isn’t ideal, but beggars can’t be choosers. If you just realized I spent the whole time not actually talking about Reguilon, congrats. His game feels somewhat mundane to me with some flashes of talent in a Spurs uniform. A decent Mercenary to join the ranks.
Grade: C
Altay Bayindir
Your guess is as good as mine. After looking him up, he was the starting keeper at Fenerbahce for the past few seasons, so that’s decent. He has experience, and I’m assuming Ten Hag has .scouted him more than I have. The best news is he was only ~$7 million, so a cheap but somewhat proven backup is a solid idea considering Tom Heaton is stuck in the old people home.
Grade: C
Johnny Evans
Good ol’ Johnny Evans is here until the rest of the season. The former United guy makes his way back home. The positives are it’s a feel good story. The negatives suggest, and somewhat confirm, that Varane can’t stay on the pitch for over 30 prem starts, and that Maguire is borderline useless in Ten Hag’s vision. I don’t hate Harry Maguire, but he just cannot perform well in a United shirt as of last season. But I digress; Johnny Evans will likely bring some maturity to a dressing room that can feel void of it at times when United hang their heads.
Grade: C+
Sofyan Amrabat
Amrabat comes in after a super weird, very drawn out transfer saga. The reported deal is a $10 million loan fee and $20 million later to purchase. This deal screams “We ran out of money, and Fiorentina wanted too much” to me. Front office incompetence aside, he is a good passer and provides a reliable backup to Casemiro while Kobbie Mainoo recovers and gets up to speed. I don’t hate the signing, but nor do I love it. He has allegedly been twerking for United for months, so that’s a positive in my book. He will give us some much needed depth, my only hope is that he actually gets some consistent playtime or else that might be a waste of money. I’d expect to see him featured in the early rounds of cup games and the occasional PL start. Not many, if any, can uproot Casemiro at CDM.
Grade: B
United’s Verdict
Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of this transfer window. I think surely United got better than last year, but is it a significant jump? Probably not. I don’t think you can expect any team to make a significant jump in one transfer window, but United are on the right course from a team development position. My only issue is that Ten Hag is creeping above $400 million total spent in 3 sequential windows. I’m not here to argue the team didn’t need some refreshing, but that is a large number, and large numbers come with expectations. There’s an old saying, “give a man enough rope, and he’ll choke himself.” Ten Hag has certainly been given a lot of funds, so its somewhat unfortunate the consensus expectation is to finish top 4 and maybe win a cup.
I think this window definitely could have gone worse considering all the press around the club, but maybe it could have been better. At the end of last season, Our two biggest holes were GK and Striker. GK seems locked up for the foreseeable future, but Striker is a bit lacking in my opinion. I think in another summer window, supposing nothing implodes, United could bring in another striker as Martial exits and United might be set up for a title charge. There’s some real talented players in the team, so now it’s up to them and EtH to find that magic and bring United back to the Glory days.
Final Grade: B
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