Manchester United Banter Mobile

07 Jul 2026 09:00:31
So we find ourselves between a rock and hard place.

After paying silly fees and exorbitant wages for years, the new management have brought some semblance of control to things. All well and good and about time, but when the likes of Spurs are throwing money around it makes it doubly difficult to rebuild the squad.

Fees are one thing, but wages are just as important in terms of the impact it has on the rest of the squad. The Athletic podcast says we were confident Fernandes wanted to come to United, but Spurs offered significantly higher wages, outside of our structure, which would have meant lots of our existing squad would have been demanding more. The salaries we paid to Sanchez, DDG, Rashford, Sancho caused all sorts of issues in setting expectations for others.

We also have a lot of debt and transfer fees due, making cash flow a problem. We need sustained qualification for the Champions' League, but to do that we need to strengthen the squad. Right now, we simply don't have the money for the rebuild we need.



I don't think Anderson wanted anyone other than City, which I get, whilst Tonali appeared to only want to move to London, and Fernandes was happy to go where the bigger salary was.

The days of us dominating the transfer market are long gone, we are saddled with debt with a stadium that needs major work or rebuilding. If Bournemouth show any signs of being willing to sell Scott, I would expect another action, same with Tchouameni so chasing the popular targets will be problematic.

We need to be investing in the type of data analysis Brighton have used so successfully and start to unearth players before they hit the big time. I know people will roll their eyes at the risk involved here but Lammens is a great example, surely we have others we should be taking a punt on?

I have no answers, I didn't particularly want Fernandes, but the club did, and we lost out to Spurs. Let that sink in, we lost out to Spurs, almost relegated last year.

Strap in, this could be a rocky window.

07 Jul 2026 12:16:06
Ajh,

Good post. The club are being financially prudent now. The current debt levels, plus the impending stadium debt, need to be managed carefully.

I do feel that the club will sign another 3 or 4 players. Spurs certainly have thrown a cat among the pigeons, startling Utd and changing their transfer plans.



There are even gaps calling Edersem the new Klebersen because he isn't a big named superstar. I think Utd will turn to players like this, with their main focus on players wanting to play for the club, not just here for a pay day.

07 Jul 2026 13:56:10
Good posts, lads.

Paying for the sins of previous administrations, but many cannot see that.

There are a lot of issues to be ironed out before we are able to structure things in a way where big signings like Anderson etc. can be made again.

Many holes to plug before we are back there.

07 Jul 2026 14:35:06
But what of Berrada's claim that the club intends to be fighting for the title by 2028? How does he expect us to do that if our debt level means we can't compete for the best players? Sure, we don't want to be committing the sins of the past again, and we may need to maintain a salary structure, but the reality is that top players cost big money. Haaland is on £500k pw. Arsenal have 5 players in the £240-£280k pw range. Salah was on £400k pw, etc.

So, if it's true that United want Tchouameni but can't afford to meet or improve a little on his current salary of reportedly £205k pw, then I really don't see how we're going to get back into the mix at the top of European football.

Success costs money. It's all very well trying to rely on Brighton-style recruitment, but that's only going to get us so far. Brighton are not a club that has the wherewithal to win the EPL and/or the Champions League. And, let's say Tchouameni is a genuine target, even at £250k he'd be £100k less than Casemiro.

What we can afford, what we're willing to pay, who we're interested in signing, etc., is all quite possibly a load of clickbait based on nothing more than innuendo and rumour, but whatever the reality, there's one overriding fact at work. If you want to beat the best, you have to have even better, and that will require acquiring some top players at whatever the market price is.

07 Jul 2026 15:18:54
Good post, newname. The point people forget is the cash inflow of the CL as well. With names like Santos, we are not getting CL next season, and that further adds to the cash challenge and further delays the much needed rebuild.

We cannot simply rely on the second-grade players to reach where we hope to be. It's a one-time push that is really needed now. Any delay just pushes us down the line with everyone around us improving.

07 Jul 2026 15:53:20
It looks like we are shopping at the cheaper end of the market, both in terms of fees and player salaries.

This does not align with "We will win the league by 2028".

It is also frustrating that the club use media cronies to put messages out that Anderson is our number one target. Tchouameni is a priority, etc. Apparently they need him to ask to leave and to take a pay cut because 215k per week is too much.

They are trying to kid the fans that they are still competing at the top table, when they know they are not.

Bruno is underpaid versus his output. Mainoo was underpaid for his level too. We are going to try to be Wenger's Arsenal when they were trying to pay off the Emirates debt. So at least tell that to the fans and we can reset expectations.

Maybe we will be more successful with Heaven and Yoro. We tried pretty much everything else!

07 Jul 2026 17:05:59
Why on earth would Tchouameni want to leave arguably the biggest team in the world and take less money?

07 Jul 2026 17:50:18
Tchoumeni is just a smokescreen in my opinion.

07 Jul 2026 07:42:38
Hopefully Bruno gets some rest now, he didn't look anywhere near the player he was for us all season. We will need him fresh and rested come the start of the season. Only Mainoo, Lammens, Martinez and Massouri left there now, I think.

07 Jul 2026 08:15:17
Plus Rashy, like it or not.

07 Jul 2026 11:10:39
Mainoo and Lammens have not played a game. Mazz is hardly a world-beater and wants to retire anyway. Martinez, hopefully, is sold, so hardly any bother to us.

07 Jul 2026 11:30:21
Mr Happy in da house.

07 Jul 2026 03:55:14
Questionable FIFA decisions

1. The last 2 games of Ronaldo's 3 game ban suspended allowing him to play in the first 2 World Cup games.

2. Balogan's one game ban suspended for the game v Belgium.

3. Inter Miami - invited to play in the World Club Championship when they were not MLS champions.

4. A FIFA Peace Prize to the war maker.

All terrible precedent setting decisions that reveals the total corruption at the top. One law for the rich, and one for the poor.



Remember the 1999 UEFA Cup final when we had both Scholes and Keane suspended (although Keane was injured too). We won. Not so Portugal and the US. Bad karma.

Why wouldn't any team sue FIFA to get players reinstated now? What's the point of having VAR and then a review by the referee if decisions are going to be overruled and the rules bent subsequently for what looks like financial or political reasons?

07 Jul 2026 06:41:03
Same old FIFA. Reminds me of when South Korea were co-hosts and FIFA did everything they could to get them to the final.

07 Jul 2026 09:57:14
It's shameful, but Infantino knows he will get re-elected by Africa and Asia, so he does what he wants. So many major sports are run by rank amateurs, with little consequence for how they perform.

Europe and South America are the football superpowers, but Blatter and Infantino realised that you can bypass them to get elected.

The fawning to the USA has been nauseating, hydration breaks, the half-time show we will be enduring, overturning the red card, just awful.

07 Jul 2026 11:55:13
Football is slowly moving away from being a competitive sport to sports entertainment. There appears to be a real drive to make money, and they wrap this around "growing the game". Infantino and Blatter both came from football administration backgrounds, and not within the competitive game.

The sad thing is, the game would have continued to grow organically, whilst maintaining its competitive credibility, but this now seems to have been lost.

07 Jul 2026 12:16:36
An incredibly corrupt institution.

06 Jul 2026 10:55:10
Casemiro's comments about Mainoo, not sure where the narrative that he isn't focused has come from.

"Kobbie is the present and the future," said the Brazil international. "I think that he is one of the best no.8s and can be that for the next 12 years.

"He is a player I really like. He always wants the ball. It is true that football can’t change your mentality but
Kobbie demonstrated that he hasn’t changed his focus once."

"He has to continue focusing
like he is now and continue playing the important role he is now.

But what a player he is, he is a great player."

"He has demonstrated this, in the Euros final with England, he has
demonstrated it in finals, he scored in the FA Cup [in the 2024 final win over Manchester City]."

"Kobbie is the present and the future."

06 Jul 2026 12:29:22
"I've told him, 'You play good. Yeah, it's top, it's top.' And I try every day like this with Kobe. Kobbie is an unbelievable player. But he needs to train, train, train. He needs fear, like 'I play, I don't play.

I need to push the training, push the training.'

This is the bit about working hard, it's not really a huge deal in the context of the whole conversation.

06 Jul 2026 12:30:11
What would Casemiro know.

06 Jul 2026 15:26:02
Jsu's 1st language is obviously not English that's very apparent so you really have to take anything that he says with a huge pinch of salt. He doesn't make sense most of the time. He might be stupid as well but we don't know that for sure so indulge him and throw him a bone now and then.

06 Jul 2026 18:10:39
Kobbie, who finished the season, was running hard everywhere. He was getting to the pitch and sprinting back at double speed to cover Casemiro when he was out wide, filling holes in our defense. In the past he was not doing that. I'm not saying he was a lazy player, but I feel like he coasted through some games, using his skill and positioning to save him from some of the lung-busting runs.

If we can get a more intelligent Robbie, who learns when to get around the pitch like a man possessed, and when to sit and protect, then we will have an even better player.



He also sometimes plays the safe option with the ball rather than the more challenging ball to cut open the opponent. He can break lines by driving forward with the ball, but he is doing that less these days. Is this part of coaches' instruction? Who knows.

I think he will continue to develop, and I expect him to take on a more influential role this year. If he plays the whole season like he ended the last one, I will be more than happy.

06 Jul 2026 08:13:14
Think we can discount Tchouameni too, Jose talking building team around him. Never really thought it was an option, big price big wages. Very clear we are looking at cheaper players with low wages. Need to uneath another Gem. Still think we will only get Ederson and Babela. We will need a lot of the young lads to step up, hopefully they can.

06 Jul 2026 11:33:03
Redcon, what do you mean, time to unearth another gem? Have we already unearthed a gem, then? If so, please share the names of the gems we have unearthed. I'm looking at this squad and can't find any. Am I missing something?

06 Jul 2026 16:20:39
I'd say Heaven is a gem based on what he cost and how good he could be in the future.

07 Jul 2026 17:24:33
I'd add Lammens too.