It hasn’t exactly been a hockey stick effect after Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought 27.7% of Manchester United and took over responsibility for football operations. (Which is essential in a football club)
This summer, five players were signed, and 13 left, including eight sales, two free transfers, one loan and two players were left without a club.
The biggest exits were the likes of Mason Greenwood, Scott McTominay and Jadon Sancho. – Here’s a review of how things are going after Old Trafford:
Mason Greenwood
Although his time at Manchester United was marked by controversy, after he was suspended by the club while an investigation into allegations of rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and abuse was carried out, Greenwood has landed on his feet.
He spent last season on loan with Getafe, before United sold him to Marseille for €31.6 million. Greenwood drove to five Ligue 1 goals after just the first three games of the competition. and have continued to play well and find the net. Marseille, who have brought in former Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi, are currently in second place in Ligue 1.
Scott McTominay McTominay
followed up his career’s best goalscoring season with Mancehster United (10 goals) with a quick start at Napoli after his €30.3 million transfer.
After 12 appearances in all competitions, the Scot had four goals and two assists, and had helped his new club to the top of the Serie A table. It is permissible to be surprised by the decision to sell McTominay given that he is now one of the best players in the Italian league. Retired Roma star Paolo Di Canio said the club’s directors should be arrested for selling Scott McTominay.
Jadon Sancho
Sancho assisted a goal in each of his first three games as a Chelsea player in the Premier League, in a moment that shows that he remains a useful asset in the English top flight in the right conditions.
However, he has struggled with regular minutes at times, mainly due to the form of Pedro Neto, one with the Blues summer signing with whom he is competing for a place on the left wing.
Chelsea have a squad full of attacking talent, and while flashes of quality have indeed been shown, Sancho has not proven that he is the type of player who deserves opportunities week after week.
Alvaro Fernandez Carreras
After Fernandez was loaned to Benfica, they triggered an option to buy him this summer for around €6 million.
But United have the option to buy him back, and according to TEAMtalk, they are considering doing so for around €20 million.
That was after he was on the winning side in nine of his first 11 games in the Liga Portugal this season, with two goals and an assist for the left-back within those.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Wan-Bissaka equalled the number of goals scored with United from 190 games within 13 as a West Ham player. In fact, he found the net for the second time as a hammer against Arsenal in November, the following game of his first goal, coming in a 2-0 win over Newcastle.
The full-back’s reputation at United was a frustrating player in attacking areas, but in a different system at West Ham, he shows that he has skills that were all too rarely shown at Old Trafford.
Willy Kambwala
Kambwala Kambwala has suffered from injuries since joining Sevilla in a €5.5 million transfer.
He was able to play in only two of Sevilla’s first 17 games of the season.
Hannibal Mejbri
Hannibal has struggled to show much attacking nous since dropping down to the Championship with Burnley.
No goals in the first 14 games of his time at Turf Moor will not have been what the club expected from a player signed from United, no matter how inexperienced, and the attacking midfielder has sometimes been sidelined, and his employers have given other players opportunities to impress instead of him.
Facundo Pellistri Pellistri
has shown flashes of class for Panathinaikos, but has hardly terrorized the defense. He scored in the second leg of the UEFA Conference League qualifiers, and then again in the second leg of the tournament itself.
But there were no goals in Pellistri’s first 12 goals in Super League Greece, only an assist in a cameo appearance in his second game in the league, following the theme of contributing a goal in his second game in various competitions.
Donny van de Beek
A flop at United essentially the moment he walked through the door, Van de Beek’s reset at Girona certainly goes better than his Red Devils career ever has.
The Dutchman scored two goals and assisted two in 62 appearances while playing for United, and with his new employers, he reached the same figures in his first 16 games, finding his feet away from the pressure of Old Trafford.
Raphael Varane
Varane was unfortunately forced to retire after an injury hindered his chances at Como. He decided to move to the club as soon as his contract at United expired, but after 23 minutes of his debut, he was forced off with a serious knee injury.
As a result, he was not included in their Serie A squad for the season, and the serious nature of the injury meant that he ended his playing career not long after.
Omari Forson
A youngster who never got the chance to get started at United, Forson has had similar problems at Monza.
The attacker made just seven senior appearances for United, and of the first 10 games in this season’s Serie A after his move, he featured for a total of 23 minutes, before being injured for a short period of time and only returning as a benchwarmer.
Anthony Martial Martial
was without a club for a couple of months after leaving United. The Frenchman came off at the end of his time at Old Trafford, scoring twice in his final season, having failed to pass 10 goals in a season since 2019/20.
After just over two months in the wilderness, he was picked up by AEK Athens. There, Martial scored four goals in his first eight games in all competitions, helping his team challenge themselves to the top of Super League Greece.
Brandon Williams
Williams has yet to find a club since walking out the door at Old Trafford. He was loaned out to Ipswich last season, and while he impressed with a couple of assists in 15 Championship games, he didn’t get a new United contract, nor was he snapped up by another side.
It has previously been suggested that Williams’ priorities are wrong, and that he is in the wrong audience. United bosses apparently suspect that he can never return to the top level.
