Ex-Manchester United manager David Moyes has opened up on the problems with the club’s transfer strategy over the past few seasons claiming it has been ‘difficult’ to work out.
Moyes was sacked as manager back in late April 2014 after just 10 months at the club.
He told the Daily Mirror: “For a while, it would be difficult to know what direction United have gone in.”
“Whether they have been signing players for marketing, which they are fantastic at, or whether it has been signing players for, on the pitch, I am not quite sure.”
“I had a really good squad, but an ageing squad. I only signed two players, other managers have signed lots. I didn’t think United needed to sign bundles of players, but needed to do it gradually.
“What you would ideally do at most clubs is sign three or four senior players a year. I would still try to follow that. Manchester United could never be a revolution. It has to be evolution. I wanted to follow all those things that Manchester United stood for and felt that was the way to go about it.
Manchester United have made just two signings in this summer’s transfer window, Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace and Daniel James from Swansea.
Manchester United have endured poor transfer window under former manager Jose Mourinho. Under the Portuguese man, the club spent close to £400m without success in the Premier League or Champions League.
Moyes endured an infamous spell as manager of the Red Devils, only signing Marouane Fellaini during his first transfer window.
It could be argued Moyes is right in his comments over the club’s old transfer strategy, where the club bought players who have made little impact for sizable fees. Indeed, the likes of Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian and Fred were all purchased, yet made just 40 appearances between themselves last season as well as having minimal impact during the season.
Meanwhile, the likes of big-names such as Angel di Maria, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Radamel Falcao did little to back up their big reputations while at Old Trafford.
Even recently, former captain Wayne Rooney called for United to change their approach in the transfer market when talking to ESPN prior to this summer and Ed Woodward has been criticised by pundits such as Gary Neville in the past.
However, this summer does look a little different at the Theatre of Dreams. Despite the struggle to sign players (talked about further by the Independent), signing only two so far, there seems to be a clear strategy in mind. Youngsters like James and Wan-Bissaka have been purchased, with other British-born talents such as Sean Longstaff and Harry Maguire (both per the Standard) being targeted.
As well as player signings, many youth players have been successful during the club’s pre-season tour of Asia. The emergence of youngsters like Tahith Chong and Mason Greenwood could suggest youngsters may get a chance next season, as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did towards the end of last season. In fact, during the club’s tour of Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, all nine goals were either scored or assisted by academy players, showing the future could be bright.
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