Man Utd spent almost double of their transfer budget this summer
Karan Tejwani
- 3 Sept 2022 16:30 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United were one of Europe’s biggest spenders in the transfer window this summer, but it wasn’t part of their plans this to have such a massive outlay.
The Red Devils signed six players: Antony and Lisandro Martinez from Ajax, Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord, Casemiro from Real Madrid, Martin Dubravka on loan from Newcastle United and Christian Eriksen on a free transfer.
They wanted to give Erik ten Hag maximum backing and got in his targets, in the hope of returning to the Champions League next season, having missed out for this campaign.
In all, the club spent £229 million on their transfers this summer, and have picked up their form in recent weeks having won three games on the bounce in the Premier League.
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Spending big wasn't planned
It’s been revealed by The Athletic that this wasn’t Manchester United’s original plan, as they wanted to spend much less – almost half that amount.
At the start of the summer transfer window, the club’s budget was believed to be £120 million, with much of it due to be spent on the purchase of Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.
That moved didn’t happen, with the player staying at Barcelona – which was his desire all along – and United moved around funds elsewhere to make other signings.
Our new Brazilian boys 🇧🇷
💫 @Antony00 x @Casemiro 💫#MUFC || #MUNARS pic.twitter.com/dhFkPrJZhg— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 2, 2022
It’s also believed that Ten Hag had a major say in all his signings as he wanted to tailor the team to his needs in order to have the best chance of being successful in his tenure.
It could be suggested that Manchester United raised their budget after the difficult start to the season where they lost 2-1 and 4-0 to Brighton and Brentford respectively in their opening two matches.
Soon after that point, they completed their two biggest signings of the summer – that of Brazilian duo Casemiro and Antony, with the latter coming after weeks of negotiation, being the most expensive transfer of the summer.
Now, the onus is on Ten Hag and the players to deliver, and they will take optimism after three consecutive wins and decent overall performances.
