Pedro U-turn leaves Van Gaal & Man Utd embarrassed again
And then there were three. Hat-tricks against Barcelona are rarities but Manchester United have a treble of sorts involving the European champions.
For the third successive summer, their attempts to sign a player from the Nou Camp have come to naught. Indeed, on each occasion, a United manager has remained unconvinced of the merits of one who has shown his class in Catalonia. First it was Thiago Alcantara, who headed to Bayern Munich as David Moyes dithered. Then, in 2014, Moyes’ target Cesc Fabregas went to Chelsea as Louis van Gaal opted not to bid for the midfielder.
Now Pedro seems set to follow suit. United’s interest in the winger has ended. The decision, once again, was Van Gaal’s. United knew of the £22 million release clause in Pedro’s Barcelona contract. The fact that, in weeks of weighing up whether to sign him, they never opted to activate it, is a sign that Van Gaal continued to harbour reservations; ones which, evidently, Jose Mourinho does not share about a World Cup winner with 22 major pieces of silverware and 99 Barcelona goals to his name.
Whenever United miss out on a player, as they often have done in the last three years, the natural impulse of many has been to blame Ed Woodward. Yet if United have made a mistake this time, it is the manager’s, not the executive vice-chairman’s. And certainly there is a risk attached for United.
The danger is that an enemy is strengthened while United retain the same personnel in a department of the side where there is a need for greater firepower. Clubs should never buy a player simply to stop a rival purchasing him but the worst-case scenario for United is that Pedro powers Chelsea to the title. Van Gaal cuts a decisive figure but took a month to make his mind up about a triple Champions League winner. Mourinho has acted more swiftly.
Van Gaal admitted last week that he liked Pedro and believed the Spaniard had the qualities, of speed and creativity, which he has argued they require since Angel Di Maria was sold. Now the argument has changed. Now the case is that Memphis Depay, whose arrival was arranged three months before Di Maria’s departure, was his replacement. The Dutchman was a revelation against Club Brugge on Tuesday but the burden on younger shoulders has grown.
It is as well United have made a statement on the pitch this week. Others have been decisive off it. Manchester City are closing in on Nicolas Otamendi and while United face the reality they have failed to sign a centre-back this summer.
One who Van Gaal did definitely want, and bid €40 million for, has eluded his grasp. Sergio Ramos signed a new contract at the Bernabeu and, so far, United’s attempt to play hardball with Real Madrid over two players has backfired.
David de Gea is still at Old Trafford but as long as the Spaniard sits in the stands, United cannot benefit from the unsettled goalkeeper’s presence. The likelihood is that that their reigning Player of the Year will leave on a free transfer next summer and, rather than compromising on a smaller sum, United’s stance of demanding a world-record fee for a goalkeeper will end up costing them millions.
It leaves United in a strange position. Van Gaal has spent some £230 million in 15 months but United have not improved three key positions of the team. Sergio Romero’s dodgy distribution does not necessarily make him a poor stand-in for De Gea, but nor have there been enough indications he looks like a long-term first choice.
The notion that a defensive leader, a Ramos or a Mats Hummels, would be signed, has been shelved; Plan B incorporates the use of Chris Smalling and a reinvented Daley Blind at the heart of the defence. The only specialist centre-back Van Gaal has bought, Marcos Rojo, now looks a back-up.
In attack, meanwhile, Wayne Rooney reigns unchallenged while Van Gaal has not bought an alternative. Radamel Falcao may be a busted flush, but the sale of Robin van Persie deprived United of a forward who, even after successive underwhelming seasons, nonetheless scored 58 goals in three years on their books. He has not been replaced.
A manager who invariably talks of “balance” may not have a balanced squad. A chief executive who excels at balancing the books is seeing his manager choosing not to spend much of the money he generates and not to recruit footballers with stardust United want. Woodward had indicated that United had another £150 million transfer budget this summer. There is a very real possibility that United will not sign anyone else and their outlay only stands at £78 million. They have recouped £55 million of that in sales.
The resident Galactico, Di Maria, beat at a hasty exit as United made a £15 million loss on him. Old Trafford still does not look the destination of choice for superstars, Bastian Schweinsteiger apart. There are reasons to believe each of their four main buys – Matteo Darmian, Morgan Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger and Depay – will prove astute acquisitions, but the problem is what United have not done. They have not made the giant stride forward their budget allowed them to.
They do not have a team that looks like the finished article. And they do not have Pedro, a finisher who should add goals to Chelsea.
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