Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claims that Manchester United “hope” to complete one or two signings this week.
After a bludgeoning at the hands of lowly Brentford yesterday, the need for reinforcements at the club is greater than ever.
As reported here earlier, the first of those is likely to be Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who has either agreed personal terms or is set to “in the next 24-48h”, which is Romano’s belief.
Romano also adds that “Ten Hag recently had positive contacts directly with the player as well.”
In terms of the second signing of the week, Romano says in his Daily Briefing that he expects it to be a forward, but he is not clear on whether this will be a striker or a winger.
“United will then decide on the situation of the new striker, it is also necessary to understand how the winger issue will evolve with Cody Gakpo discussed internally alongside top, complicated priority target Antony,” Romano says.
The guru also plays down recent speculation that United could be in for a new goalkeeper to challenge David de Gea.
Another reliable source, The Athletic, claimed on Friday that the goalkeeping budget had been increased drastically as Erik ten Hag looks for “genuine competition” for the Spaniard, who is entering the last year of his contract.
De Gea’s performance yesterday will only increase that speculation, but Romano insists that “At the moment, Manchester United sources only confirm that they want to believe in De Gea. Ten Hag was clear and the club is also of the same opinion.
“Last year he was key for Man United; I think it’s clear the biggest problems are in other positions.”
What concerns many United fans is that yesterday’s mistakes were not isolated incidents for the 31 year old. His performances on the pre-season tour were also littered with mistakes.
In an earlier article this morning, Ayantan Chowdhury asks whether De Gea’s accepting blame is enough going forward.
We simply do not know whether we are going to see 2020/21 De Gea, who may have cost United at least 10-15 points with his erratic performances, or 21/22 De Gea, who saved them just as many, if not more, with his heroics.
So far, the evidence is that the former is more likely than the latter.
