Man United: Ed Woodward backtracks on last week’s words

Ed Woodward believes the Manchester club will be very active in the transfer market, stating they will be really “competitive” when it comes to battling for top players.

Quite the different tune Woodward is signing now. At first, it was all about how the scale of the impact on clubs due to the pandemic cannot be measured to any degree, they included. Every club has been knocked by the  COVID-19 experience.

It has made it near impossible to predict what type of transfer window we could expect when it opens. At the moment, ending the respective 2019-2020 campaign is far more important than transfers.

We can image from the heavy financial impact the virus has had on all football clubs, recovery for the staff members of the club and the club’s well-being itself are essential goals to achieve in the near future for a far better long-term operation.

Several days ago Man United’s Ed was chatting about the same message, expressing the severity United and others are undergoing but has since changed his speech slightly.

In the beginning, it was like this with Ed…

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"Initially, the one club you could’ve seen continuing their ridiculous spending in these circumstances was Manchester United.After all, they love spending boatloads of money on players who aren’t always worthy of it, but Ed Woodward stated this week that the virus has derailed their transfer plans, and fans shouldn’t expect it to be a regular summer.Ed Woodward said the following this week in the Manchester United fans forum:I cannot help feeling that speculation around transfers of individual players for hundreds of millions of pounds this summer seems to ignore the realities that face the sport.Nobody should be under any illusions about the scale of challenge facing everyone in football and it may not be ‘business as usual’ for any clubs, including ourselves, in the transfer market this summer. (Via: The Top Flight)"

After spitting his sad game of the impact the virus has had on the financial side of the game, he now says United will be heavily active in the market in order to keep supporting the manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Titles are crucial to the club and the only way to get them rolling in for the Norwegian is by Woodward and the club backing him.

This is why the statements have changed almost overnight by the club’s vice-chairman. It’s certainly confusing to not first backup your manager’s words of them being very active in the market, to then stating the exact words he was cited saying. Mouthful!

"Clearly it’s true we are fortunate to be in a strong financial position compared to many clubs, but we are not immune from the financial impact of what this virus is doing. I would say that once we have that visibility of a path through the crisis and coming out of the other side to relative normality, then of course, we aim to remain highly competitive in the market. (Via: Sky Sports)"

What does this mean now?

This means United fans can still lick their lips for the summer window. Both Harry Kane and Jadon Sancho are valued over £100m and both are rumoured to be targets for the Red Devils.

Reports out of Germany claim the Englishman might commit a longer future to Dortmund now with a lucrative deal on the table. His price will unquestionably increase while Kane’s estimate will stay unmoved.

If they are in a strong position as pronounced by Ed, then we could see both making the switch to Old Trafford after the air is clear of the Coronavirus and we have a better idea of what’s happening in the world of football.