A look ahead at January for Manchester United
Even if Sir Jim Ratcliffe is in charge by January, I don’t think it will change a lot for Manchester United - it will be a transfer window about opportunities. I expect something similar to last year, when they signed Wout Weghorst on loan, that kind of deal.
I think their mission will be to do something important next summer, but it could also depend on other factors like the recovery of Lisandro Martinez, that’s going to be an important part of the story for January. That and the future of Harry Maguire will be crucial. Jadon Sancho’s situation will also be important to see if they do something in the offensive positions or not.
There is still no price for Sancho, it will be important to see if it’s a permanent transfer or a loan - they will be open to any opportunity, though of course they’d probably favour a permanent transfer. Still, they know that in January it won’t be easy to find someone willing to pay something in the region of, and this is just my opinion, £50-55m, is not going to be easy. There is no change at the moment, no apology from Sancho, so it looks 90% over between him and the club. It’s similar to the situation with Cristiano Ronaldo a year ago - it’s really complicated, and Erik ten Hag doesn’t want any difficulties like this inside the club.
In terms of replacing Sancho, there have been reports about Takefusa Kubo and in my opinion he would be a fantastic option, Kubo is a top player. But I’m afraid there’s absolutely nothing concrete happening there from what I’m told. Kubo is a crucial player for Real Sociedad, also Real Madrid are still keeping an eye on him for the future. I’m not aware of any talk with other clubs at this stage, and I don’t think it’s one for January honestly.
Watch with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to the Daily Briefing to watch this video and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
