Manchester United are not known to be the most financially sensible club. While they might recuperate their losses through the severe size of the club, they could do with increasing their efforts to stop throwing money out the window.
The club is guilty of losing money with their player investments, allowing players to run down their contracts and throwing ridiculous wages at next-to-nothing players. *Cough, Alexis, cough*.
Manchester United will accept £2m for Eric Bailly
But I think that recent news which emerged yesterday tops it all. According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United are prepared to sell Eric Bailly to Real Betis for a measly £2m fee. To put this into context, this is a £28m loss of investment since they signed him for £30m.
In fairness, it’s no fault of their own. Nobody would’ve predicted the dramatic turmoil of Bailly’s career, since he did arrive with a false sense of stability looking into the future. Relentless injuries and an unsuccessful loan spell is what causes the frustration.
To make one thing clear, I am not saying Bailly is worth more than £2m. He isn’t and if anything, United should grab this £2m as fast as possible because they’re lucky to even get any return on investment. It just shows that sometimes, there will be losses in football.
This departure does not change Erik ten Hag’s transfer plans. He needs to sign a centre back anyway, and I’m sure that keeping Bailly hasn’t crossed his mind. He’s better off accepting his losses and investing in this position again.
The main names which are thrown around are Kim Min-Jae and Axel Disasi. However, it is likely to be the latter, with Kim Min-Jae the favourite to join Bayern Munich. Regardless, Disasi would be a great signing for United.
For a roundup of today’s Manchester United transfer news, click here.