There have been a number of low points in Manchester United’s recruitment under the Glazer ownership, but the failed pursuit of 33-year-old Marko Arnautovic in mid-August, amid a backlash from fans and in the wake of an opening-day defeat to Brighton is right down there.
United have decided not to follow up on Arnautovic, after having a low-ball bid rejected by Bologna, and with supporters reportedly emailing chief executive Richard Arnold in droves to complain about the former West Ham forward, who has been accused of using racist language in the past.
Binning the deal is surely for the best, but the episode spoke to United’s increasing desperation to improve the squad as the August 31 transfer deadline inches closer.
Saturday was supposed to herald the start of a bold new era under Erik ten Hag, but a 2-1 defeat laid bare United’s latest failings in the market and has seemingly sent the club on a trolley-dash.
As well as the doomed offer for Arnautovic, United have agreed a deal with Juventus for midfielder Adrien Rabiot, with personal terms now being discussed, and are pushing to sign PSV Eindhoven winger Cody Gakpo. The moves appear reactionary and smack of a club seized by panic in the wake of a dispiriting result and another summer without a clear recruitment plan.
United have largely failed to move on their unwanted players to raise funds, nor landed Ten Hag’s leading targets in Antony and Frenkie De Jong. It feels a long time since the canny free-transfer signing of Christian Eriksen suggested their recruitment might finally be looking up.
De Jong remains in limbo at Barcelona but is now more likely to join Chelsea, and United’s only other signings to date are young left-back Tyrell Malacia, from Feyenoord, and centre-half Lisandro Martinez, from Ten Hag’s former club, Ajax.
The new additions are clearly the head coach’s picks, but what looked like faith increasingly comes across as a troubling over-reliance.
Ten Hag worked with Arnautovic at FC Twente over a decade ago, and with Martinez, Antony and De Jong at Ajax, where Eriksen trained when he was in charge last season. He knows Malacia and Gakpo from the Eredivisie.
It is no surprise that a coach will choose players he knows and trusts, given the option, but where are the suggestions from United’s recruitment team or new football director John Murtough? A club of United’s size should have a catalogue of data-driven options for a cut-price forward more suitable than an ageing Austrian who recently spent two years playing in China and has a reputation for being disruptive.
Either there are no suggestions, or Ten Hag would rather pursue a player like Arnautovic because he does not trust in the personnel and structures above him.
This was one of the major concerns in appointing Ten Hag in the first place. The Dutchman thrived at Ajax, the club with perhaps the most clearly-defined structure in Europe, where he was essentially tasked with coaching the first team and little else.
At United, a club lacking a proper structure or expertise — unless you count the looming presence Sir Alex Ferguson — Ten Hag is essentially being asked to be an old-school manager, performing tasks which a director of football and chief executive did for him in Amsterdam.
Ten Hag is not the maker of United’s mess, but it raises fresh questions over whether he is the right man for the job.
Would Antonio Conte, for example, have already walked away or whipped the club into shape in the same way he has done at Tottenham had United been brave enough to pursue the Italian when they had the chance?
In the absence of a proper structure and recruitment strategy, the gap to their rivals will remain, regardless of who is boss.
Until the arrival of Conte, and Fabio Paratici, Spurs were often the club on a late trolley-dash in the final weeks of the window, but this summer they have the luxury of watching United panic from a position of comfort.
Would Mauricio Pochettino, who likes to operate as a manager and has already proved he can change the culture of a big club, have been a better pick?
Elsewhere in London, Mikel Arteta has been backed to the hilt by Arsenal, who have a clear strategy of targeting versatile young players and have made timely signings this summer.
Thomas Tuchel is being backed to rebuild Chelsea’s squad and, despite an often frustrating summer, is still likely to end the window with four high-quality additions.
Ten Hag is far from the first United manager to be let down by recruitment, and their failings this summer are only the latest in a long list of ill-conceived or unimaginative ideas, best exemplified by the decision to bring back Cristiano Ronaldo a year ago.
In the absence of a proper structure and joined-up recruitment strategy, the gap between United and their rivals will remain, regardless of who is boss. It is early days, but it is hard to escape the feeling that Ten Hag is being set up to fail.
