Speaking before Manchester United’s clash with Wolves on late Saturday afternoon, Gary Neville has criticised his former side’s loan signing of Odion Ighalo.
What did he say?
The Red Devils had a particularly hectic deadline day, with reports early on Friday morning suggesting they were interested in securing Bournemouth’s Josh King. However, that move failed to materialise, with attentions then turning to Shanghai Shenua man Ighalo.
The Manchester side eventually got a loan deal over the line before the deadline, but Neville has slammed the club for their lack of planning and decisiveness over the entire situation.
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He said (as quoted by Sky Sports): “They just needed a body in that area. Rashford’s going to be out for another couple of months. I can’t let the club off the hook though, unfortunately. Romelu Lukaku told us a couple of weeks ago that he had said he was going to leave last February or March.
“That’s nine months to be able to manoeuvre and get into a position to sign a striker for the club for the long-term. And yet they have ended up desperately doing one on Deadline Day. The fact that the club were in that position, knowing that Sanchez and Lukaku were leaving for many, many months, tells us that Manchester United, at this moment in time, are struggling to navigate through the transfer market smartly.”
Desperation
Whilst United managed to get a striker in through the door before the deadline, as Neville suggests, the whole saga really does reflect poorly on how the club have managed the situation.
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Having taken the decision to let Romelu Lukaku go last summer, the Red Devils desperately needed to show a bit more foresight in recognising that they needed to replace the Belgium international. Instead, they are now going to finish this current campaign with Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Ighalo as their front-line options.
That simply put, isn’t good enough for a team the calibre of United.
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