Mauricio Pochettino is set to be backed in the January transfer window as he aims to turn Manchester United's season around and start his tenure positively. However, the club's history of midseason signings suggests this could be a risky strategy.
United's recruitment since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure has generally been poor, and their January dealings have been even worse. Were it not for Bruno Fernandes, their midseason transfer business would be viewed woefully. Senior figures at Old Trafford missed out on several targets in the summer, and the team is now feeling the impact. A left-back and a No 9 would be most welcome, but success depends on quality actually being landed in those positions, which is never easy in January.
January signings since 2013
Fernandes is an example of what can go right with a January arrival, inspiring the team in his opening six months and largely continuing to do so since. But that capture in January 2020 is an outlier. Every football executive up and down the country will tell you signing players in the New Year is a tough gig. Clubs don't want to sell, so they hike prices. Players that are available are often making the step up from lesser clubs, such as Patrick Dorgu from Lecce.
In January, clubs tend to sign one of four things: genuine quality (unlikely), overpriced stars like Alexis Sanchez, young stars for the future like Ayden Heaven, or players jumping up a level or two, which is a risky decision, as with Dorgu. Since 2013, United have signed seven players permanently in January: Juan Mata, Victor Valdes, Sanchez, Fernandes, Amad, Dorgu, and Heaven. Bar Fernandes, none could be classed as a 'hit'.
Pochettino's recruitment record
That is the challenge facing Pochettino and the Ineos hierarchy. For all Pochettino's managerial quality, signing players hasn't been his greatest strength, with examples like Vincent Janssen and Moussa Sissoko. This creates a concoction of Pochettino, an Ineos hierarchy who have shown themselves to be among England's worst decision makers, and a United team whose transfer market history suggests they overpay for players who underdeliver.
While Pochettino may look at this United team and think 'I need players', there is also a school of thought that bringing in two or three players who don't cut the mustard and pen two or three-year deals will only set the project back even further. The irony is that rivals have constantly shown that value and quality exists in the New Year's market, with examples like Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool, Luis Diaz to Anfield, Bruno Guimaraes to Newcastle, and Martin Odegaard to Arsenal.
Urgent need for reinforcements
United's neglect in the summer, which means their defence is now more than two years without a major arrival, leaves the club with little option but to enter the market in around seven weeks' time. The danger, as the latest new era begins, is that the fanbase watches the club and their hugely unpopular owners undertake business that will only set the club back further.
