Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2018 pt3

I'm starting to get a bit concerned about the lack of signings too. Part of me is thinking 'Sure it's a World Cup Summer, these things will always get delayed in that situation.'

However, a WC Summer didn't stop Juve from finalising a huge deal for Ronaldo. It didn't stop Liverpool from picking up a couple of important additions to their squad during the tournament. (I wouldn't have wanted Shaqiri, but Liverpool needed strength in squad depth this Summer and they got that with him).

I remember the Euros two Summers ago. With both a new manager coming into the club, and a major international tournament going on, many of us were expecting business to be slow that Summer. However, the club had 3/4 of their transfer business done and dusted by early July. The other 1/4, Pogba, was always going to be a drawn-out affair and massive media circus, so I don't blame the club for getting him later that Summer rather than sooner. It was all quite slick that Summer in fairness. Jose said he had identified 4 targets, and he got them.

This Summer seems far less organised and quite scatter-gun. We have Dalot, who let's be honest, 90% of us in here have no clue what he's like. He could be Darmian Part II. We have Fred, another 'new to the league player' who could take some time to settle in. Outside of that, we have links to 20+ players with nothing concrete seemingly incoming or imminent.

Most Summers I'm calm and patient about our transfer business, but this Summer I'm starting to find myself eyeing up a ticket to get on board the Mitch train. In less than 4 weeks, we have our first game of the season and it feels like the club are still in 'last season' mode. Still scouting Summer targets, still figuring out who is deadwood and who isn't, still waiting on some of our important players to even finish their season and go on holiday.

The club really needed to be going into this Summer fully prepared. Of course, the WC will offer some disruption to the transfer market, but not the complete stall which we've seen with United. We have Dalot, Fred and have retained the services of Fellaini. Great, we're going to challenge for Top 4 and go on a domestic cup run with that.

I'm sure there will be more signings, but I'm not at all optimistic about our upcoming start to the season. Not with the current lack of signings, plus the fact a bunch of our players will probably still be on holidays after the WC. Leicester at home in our first game, Brighton away in the second. Two games we need to be picking up maximum points in, walking through, to have any right to think about challenging for the title. As it is now, I'm not fully convinced we'll get those maximum points in those games or that we'll challenge for the title.