If Manchester United fail to make any more signings before the transfer deadline closes and miss out on the top four once again, there is no telling just how frustrated Roy Keane will be. The United legend warned the club that they needed at least five signings this summer to compete with their Premier League rivals — and with three weeks to go, they are still two players short and as of yet have not strengthened in several of the areas he recommended.
At the start of the transfer window, the Irishman identified the areas where he felt United needed strengthening, and few could argue with his choices. Most Red Devils fans would argue the entire squad needed overhauling from top to bottom, but only so many changes can be made in one summer.
The former midfielder, who turns 51 today, first urged the club to focus their recruitment on signing midfielders: “Off the top of my head it’s the midfield [that needs improving],” Keane told Sky Bet. “The middle of the park they need some top quality players in there, some physicality, some energy. That’s where I’d start.”
With Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata all leaving, United have been left short of options in that area — yet there have been no new signings to address the issue raised by Keane.
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But it has been three weeks since United announced the most recent signing with the £56m capture of Lisandro Martinez from Ajax, who followed Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen to Manchester. Since then, their transfer activity has smacked of desperation and a lack of planning. A move for Marko Arnautovic, the former Stoke forward who now plays for Bologna, proved to be ill-advised.
United had all but agreed a deal to sign the 34-year-old when the club’s fans flooded the complaints department with angry emails urging the club not to sign the forward — and they subsequently pulled out.
PSV winger Cody Gakpo, who scored 21 goals in the Eredivisie last season, is reportedly United’s top target in the final weeks of the season. But with an ageing and unhappy Cristiano Ronaldo their only fit striker at present, it beggars belief that United are attempting to sign a winger instead of searching for a new No 9.
The club’s transfer chiefs John Murtough and CEO Richard Arnold are in danger of treading the same path as their predecessor Ed Woodward by leaving their business late. Liverpool and Manchester City have done their business and look settled, with the top two set to battle it out for the title once again.
However, United couldn’t be further away from their rivals, as demonstrated during their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Brighton. Keane had previously said it was “good timing” for Ten Hag to take over the club at their lowest point because the 52-year-old will feel they can only improve under his management.
But in order to do that, Ten Hag needs to be given the tools to make this United team work to his tactical methods. And right now, with only three new signings arriving at the club this summer, the Dutchman faces an impossible task of trying to improve a team in need of a huge makeover — just as Keane warned.
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