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Manchester United have been in transition for most of the last two years, and this summer was expected to be one of massive transfer activities.
However, the club have been relatively quiet in the ongoing transfer market. While rivals like Chelsea and Liverpool have been active, the Red Devils have only completed the signing of Donny Van de Beek so far.
They continue to be frustrated in their efforts to sign Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund, while they have also seen several transfer targets ditch them for other clubs.
Manchester United would begin their Premier League campaign with the visit of Crystal Palace on Sunday but fans have been growing agitated at the lack of transfer activity.
Now the Manchester United CEO Ed Woodward has come out to address the club's plans and insisted that progress has been made despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
'Manchester United optimistic about the future' -Woodward
Speaking to Manchester Evening news, Ed Woodward said:
“Disruption from the pandemic is continuing to create huge economic pressures from the top to the bottom of the football pyramid and, while we are fortunate to be in a more resilient position than most clubs, we are not immune from the impact. Despite this, we are delighted to have brought in Donny van de Beek from Ajax, adding further quality to a midfield already strengthened by the recruitment of Bruno Fernandes in January.
“Both Donny and Bruno are players we had been tracking for some time and their signings reflect out long-term approach to blending high-quality recruits with homegrown talent to develop a squad capable of winning trophies playing attacking, entertaining football.”
He also made reference to the gains made by the Manchester United academy in the last one year.
“As part of that process, we have also awarded new contracts to Nemanja Matic and academy graduates Dean Henderson, Brandon Williams, Scott McTominay and Mason Greenwood over the past year. We have also continued to strengthen our thriving academy by attracting several promising young players from across Europe, including Marc Jurado from Barcelona and Alvaro Fernandez Carreras from Real Madrid.
“Together, these investments reinforce our optimism about the future, and we will continue to build on these strong foundations. However, we must also be responsible in our use of resources during the most extraordinarily challenging time for everyone in football.”
With just three weeks to go before the close of the transfer market, Manchester United find themselves playing catch-up to their nearest rivals in the Premier League.
If they are to close that gap and consolidate on the gains made last season, they have to become more proactive in the transfer market but the words of Ed Woodward has hardly given cause for optimism.
