Stop us if you think you’ve heard this one before: a storied club with loads of money and in dire need of a few offensive stars has extended talks with said prospective stars. Fans are then teased for weeks about the impending transfer, right up to looming medical checks. Then, the rug is pulled out from under the team and fans when the player uses this interest to leverage their contract negotiations at their current clubs or get bought by another very rich club at the eleventh hour.
Oh, you have heard it before? That’s right, because that’s exactly what has happened to the Red Devils all summer long. First, it was Sergio Ramos using the talks to score a sweeter payday from Real Madrid. Then, it was defender Nicolas Otamendi, who was stolen away by cross-town rivals Manchester City. Most recently, it seemed like United found the perfect replacement for departed winger Angel di Maria in Barcelona’s Pedro. That was until he was swept away by Chelsea and the chequebook of Roman Abramovich.
After being played more than a couple times this transfer window, you’ll have to forgive us if we’re less than confident about the latest rumour that Manchester United is splashing some cash for Barcelona’s scrappy young forward. What was originally reported as a £140 million bid for the Brazilian forward has quickly ballooned to epic proportions. It appears that the final number will end up closer to £240 million after taxes and wages. If the deal were to go through, it would easily be the most expensive transfer of all time.
This summer has been a remarkably eventful transfer window full of surprising coups and crushing disappointments. As crazy as things are, you can still find some excellent insights on the current market if you’re looking to attempt to make sense of it all. Strap yourself in for a ride though, because the next week leading up to the transfer deadline is about to be absolutely mental. Neymar isn’t even the only high-profile signing that’s been hinted at for Manchester United this week.
The news about Neymar comes hot on the heels with reports that the team is ready to sign Belgian wunderkind Kevin de Bruyne. The young Belgian star was named Bundesliga Player of the Year last season and has received a fair amount of interest from Manchester City as well. The winger from Wolfsburg would make a nice replacement for di Maria after Manchester United lost out on Pedro to the Blues.
Considering that the team has only scored twice in its first three games, it comes as little shock to see manager Louis van Gaal desperately searching for satisfactory offensive reinforcements. If the team can pull off either one of these transfers, you’ll be able to colour us impressed. And if they manage to snag both? We’ll be positively beside ourselves. We’re not even going to consider what we’ll do if they miss out on both of them. The summer transfer window closes Sept. 1, 2015 so there’s just one week of waiting left to see how it all turns out.
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