Manchester United’s transfer window record since Sir Alex Ferguson retired isn’t very good, but one transfer window set the club back years.
Since taking over as part owners at Old Trafford, Ineos’ main focus has been on cost-cutting on and off the pitch, and resetting Man Utd’s transfer strategy.
The early signs have been encouraging, with the 2024 and 2025 summer window having more hits than misses.
However, they can truly be judged when they are successful in getting rid of the debris from one of the Glazers’ windows that set the club back years.
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Man Utd had a horrendous 2023/24 transfer window
The 2022/23 season had gone well for Man Utd after a troubled start, and Erik ten Hag was beginning to look like the one who would bring United back to the promised land.
The transfer window in 2022 was far from perfect, with players like Antony and Casemiro arriving for large fees, but at least they contributed that season.
However, when the time came to build on a successful season in the summer of 2023, United fluffed it spectacularly by imploding.
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Armed with Champions League football, a proven coach, a successful team, and a project on the up, United managed to get everything wrong.
Until this point, United either didn’t back the manager enough and spent more, or spent huge amounts of money, of which at least a few players turned out to be successes.
In the summer of 2023, they spent a large amount of money on players who turned out to be duds, and can be called the debris of that window just three years later.
£55m was spent on Mason Mount, who can’t seem to stay fit for two games in a row, and when he is, he doesn’t have a clear role in the team.
£47m spent on Andre Onana, who’s an albatross around the neck of United’s wage bill and has been replaced by an £18m player from Belgium.
Finally, £70m was spent on Rasmus Hojlund, who is playing for Napoli, and will be sold to them for £38m in the summer.
Add those to a loan move for Sergio Reguilon and Sofyan Amrabat, while youngsters like Alvaro Carreras and Dean Henderson were allowed to leave, and it looks like a window straight from planning hell.
United mortgaged their future for a present that failed them, and spent money recklessly to back a project they would back out of less than 18 months later.
Ineos are clearing the debris of Man Utd’s transfer mistakes
It’s not a coincidence that Ineos are branding “Project 2028” as the year of United’s renaissance.
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Yes, it’s the 150th anniversary of the club, but on paper, 2028 is also the year when, theoretically, the last five-year contract by the Glazers will come off the books.
Ineos took control of the operation in January 2024, so 2028 is the year when there will be no Glazer mistakes on the payroll.
It’s no secret that United are still paying for players who are playing for somebody else, such was the recklessness with which the Glazers kicked the can down the road to fund transfers.
Mount had a year left on his contract, and Bruno Fernandes played in his position. Yet, he was deemed worthy of £55m.
A big-money bet on Hojlund was discarded with utter ruthlessness by Ruben Amorim, while the less said about Onana, the better.
At least when Jose Mourinho wasn’t backed, United simply didn’t spend enough. Here, they spent recklessly and on bad signings.
That’s a combo that United are still trying to recover from. A single window set United back immensely.
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