Forget the doom merchants, United remain one of the most powerful clubs on the planet
AROUND every corner nowadays, there is a pundit waiting to tell a player he should not join Manchester United.
Glen Johnson thinks it would be “the wrong decision” if Jadon Sancho opted for a move to Old Trafford, while Joleon Lescott questioned whether it would be the right destination for Jack Grealish.
Perfectly understandable observations.
With most bookmakers, United are 8/1 shots to finish in the Premier League top four – and those are not overly generous odds.
Lose at Stamford Bridge tomorrow night and that price should double.
Of course, thanks to Manchester City’s misdemeanours, fifth place looks like earning a Champions League slot, but you would not bet on United finishing that high.
The negative vibe is not just coming from the bookies.
By every account you care to listen to, Paul Pogba, the best outfield player on the United books, wants out. Old Trafford the arena, according to some, is pretty much falling to pieces and something called the Soccerex Football Finance 100 Report (no, not a clue either) claims United is only the 16th most financially powerful club in football, below Guangzhou Evergrande and Hoffenheim.
Quite how they work that out is anyone’s guess and is clearly irrelevant nonsense.
That is because United remain one of the most powerful clubs on the planet. Full stop.
Yes, there are attractive alternatives, both in a financial and footballing sense, for talent such as Sancho and Grealish.
United cannot simply blow rivals out of the water with their monetary muscle.
But the shirt remains one of the most prestigious in the club game.
It was the same with Liverpool when they were not certainties for season-by-season Champions League football. Under Jurgen Klopp in the 2015/16 season, Liverpool finished eighth in the Premier League. Ahead of the summer transfer window, he was asked if the absence of Champions League football might deter potential signings.
As it has turned out, his response was a brilliant insight into why Liverpool are back where they are now.
“If a player would tell me, ‘If you were in the Champions League next year, then I would be interested’, I would put the phone down.
“It is about pushing the train, not jumping on a running train. If somebody says, ‘But you don’t play Champions League next year, then goodbye and thank you, have fun next year wherever you will be’.”
And those who opted to push the Klopp train that summer were Joel Matip, Georginio Wijnaldum and a certain Sadio Mane. The problem United have, of course, is that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not – or does not yet appear to be – Jurgen Klopp.
Ed Woodward has so far managed to sell the Solskjaer project to some of us and to some fans. Next up, Solskjaer has to sell it to the likes of Sancho, as Klopp did to his recruits back in the day when Liverpool finished just above mid-table.
But amid all the negativity, it is worth remembering Manchester United should not need selling.
Grealish, Sancho and players such as James Maddison will be in heavy demand this summer, that is for sure.
And most serious suitors will be able to offer them the big European nights.
But, as Klopp observed, oven-ready Champions League football should not be the be-all and end-all.
That is no challenge for a great player. Helping to put a fine footbal ling institution back where it belongs most certainly is.