Man United January Transfer Window Recap

It’s safe to say Manchester United are world’s apart from where most fans thought they would be this season.

On paper, you look at this Man United side and put them down under title challengers but that isn’t the reality and instead are fighting out for top 4.

We all know the January transfer window can be a difficult window to operate in but this was a prime opportunity for Man United to bring in players, predominantly a CDM, and bolster the chances of top 4.

But what seems to becoming a regular occurence, the board have let the club done when they have needed them most.

Despite not signing anyone in the window, the club did trim a few wages off the books at least for now.

Anthony Martial

When Martial signed for Man United he was dubbed to be one of the most exciting players in Europe but over the last seven years he has failed to live up to the hype.

The Frenchman has now moved to Sevilla on loan for the remainder of the season as he seeks to revive his Man United career.

Donny Van de Beek

Donny is another player that has suffered since his Man United move and gametime has been hard to come by for the Dutchman.

Under Solskjaer and now Rangnick, Van de Beek has been a bench player but he has now secured a loan move to Everton, who have just announced Frank Lampard as manager.

The wages will be paid in full by the Toffees and the move will last for the rest of the campaign.

Unfortunately for Donny, he is cup tied so is unavailable to start any FA Cup games for Everton.

Amad Diallo

The Ivorian has a bundle of talent that will stand him in good stead for his career but Amad did need a loan move in order to get regular football.

Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers signed Diallo on a loan until the end of the season and the player has already netted a goal five minutes into his club debut.

Axel Tuanzebe

Axel Tuanzebe was already on loan at Aston Villa for the season before new boss Steven Gerrard neglected him in favour of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa.

Man United then made the move to recall Axel from his Premier League loan and send him across to Italy to play for Napoli.

Ethan Laird

Another player who swapped loan clubs in January was Ethan Laird.

The right back was lighting up the Championship for Swansea in a more advanced defensive role however Man United decided to give Ethan a new challenge.

He was then loaned to AFC Bournemouth who, unlike the Swans, are battling for promotion.

The move will see Laird play as more of a right back than a right wing back as he looks to help the Cherries secure their return to the top flight.

Teden Mengi

The centre back, who played against Young Boys, has also secured a loan move away from the club.

Birmingham City, who recently had Tahith Chong on their books before a lengthy injury, have signed Mengi until the end of the season.

The Blues are currently occupying 17th spot in the Championship however are not threatened by relegation.

Reece Devine

The English left back has struggled to make a name for himself at Man United and has been a victim of the rise of players like Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams and the signing of Alex Telles.

Devine will try and better his chances of a breakthrough at Man United when he plays for his loan club Walsall in League 2 and help them battle against football league relegation.

Matej Kovar

Matej spent last season in between the Swindon sticks but has failed to impress on his return to the club with the four goalkeepers ahead of him in the pecking order.

It was on Deadline Day that Kovar was officially loaned to Burton Albion as he will try and help Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s team push for promotion in League One.

A few players were rumoured to leave the club but couldn’t secure a move away in time.

The most notable of them is Jesse Lingard who has had a rollercoaster of a few months at Man United.

In the summer, Jesse was keen to stay at Man United in order to try and push for a place in the first team but it never came to pass and now he is refusing to sign a new contract, which means he leaves for free in six months.

Deadline Day saw Ralf Rangnick tell Lingard he can freely leave the club before the board seemingly overruled the new coach and kept the English talent on the books.

This meant teams like Newcastle and West Ham failed in their bid to sign the 29-year-old.

There was also a lot of noise around Dean Henderson towards the conclusion of the window with both sales and loan moves of the lips of top journalists.

However, this chatter was all too late as Hendo, who has stated his desire to leave the club, will be staying at least until the summer.

Phil Jones is also staying at Old Trafford after a few whispers linking him to a loan move to French club Lyon.

Man United are now four senior players lighter than they were in December with the moves of Martial, Donny and Amad and the ongoing investigation of Mason Greenwood. 

This doesn’t leave the club in a good position for top 4 especially looking at the business around the other clubs.

What Did Our Top 4 Rivals Do?

Tottenham were very active in the window despite losing out on the likes of Dusan Vlahovic and Adama Traore.

Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur have both joined the Lilywhites from Juventus as Bryan Gil, Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele left the club for the season and Dele Alli leaving for Everton on a permanent deal.

As for fellow North London club Arsenal, they were very dormant in the window.

The biggest story leaving the Emirates is the sale of former club captain Pierre Emrick Aubameyang who has joined Barcelona.

The club hasn’t made any noticable signings in the Janaury window.

West Ham are the only other side battling for top 4 as it stands.

Similar to Man United, the Hammers made no signings in January and only loaned a few younger talents out.

It seems that Tottenham had the most active transfer window out of the top 4 challengers so we will see how that plays out come the final few months of the season.

 

Are you content with Man United’s January business? Let us know your thoughts down below.