A quick glance on Twitter tells you that there’s plenty of doom and gloom amongst the Manchester United faithful.
A first defeat of the season to Swansea has been followed by the club finally letting David de Gea make his move to Real Madrid.
Adding to the confusion, United surprised everyone by spending tens of millions on a French teenager that virtually nobody had ever heard of.
But as Ed Woodward’s name is dragged through the mud, perhaps United fans should wait and see what the final day of the transfer window has in store.
De Gea’s exit isn’t the only one from Old Trafford. Along with reserve goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard, Jonny Evans has moved to West Brom, Javier Hernandez has made a permanent switch to Bayer Leverkusen and – perhaps most intriguingly – Adnan Januzaj has been loaned to Borussia Dortmund.
Javier Hernandez has completed a permanent move to Bayer Leverkusen. We wish him all the best for the future. #mufc pic.twitter.com/uGUMobMLzW
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 31, 2015
Unless this is a spectacular miscalculation, Manchester United simply must be making room for new arrivals.
Not a regular starter during Louis van Gaal’s tenure, but Jonny Evans’ departure leaves United significantly light in the central defensive area, especially given the team’s track record for injuries in this department.
Although United have brought in a new striker, Hernandez’s exit means that there are still only three recognised strikers – two of which under the age of twenty – in the first team squad.
But it’s Januzaj’s move to Dortmund which has really prompted the most speculation. The Bundesliga club are without Champions League football this season, and United have long been linked to a number of their players.
The decision to allow the young Belgian to go to a club in a different league seems a strange one – especially with numerous Premier League clubs said to be interested. Could it be that loaning Januzaj might soften the blow of Dortmund losing Marco Reus? Could it be a sweetener in a deal to claim Mats Hummels?
Away from Germany, could it be a move for Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann? The Frenchman occupies a similar role for Atleti as Januzaj has played in the early Premier League games he’s featured in. And as if that’s not enough, his recent cryptic Tweet has also excited United supporters.
Demain, ça va matcher!
Restez connectés 😉 #çamatche— Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) August 31, 2015
As the United fans crave a marquee signing, it remains doubtful that they’ll be able to pull off such a feat at this very late stage in the transfer window. That said, a large amount of the Adidas kit deal fund appears to be unspent. And with so many departures from the club this summer and what seems like a desperate last-minute clear out of a number of players, the signs are that something big is on the horizon.
