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This is to show intention by taking a step back. Manchester United yes Everton offer £75m plus add-ons for Jared Branthwaitethe pursuit almost ended. Goodison Park The top brass were surprised by the sudden decision. They were sure they would get it.
Dan AshworthUnited’s new sporting director firmly said no. It was a matter of principle. He was heard to say: “Those days are over.” Another line from Old Trafford was “The gold at the end of United’s rainbow no longer belongs to other clubs.”
That’s why their Paris Saint-Germain in talks for Manuel Ugarte It has been delayed for a long time.
Many in football know this from their dealings with Ashworth, albeit from a different angle, from his discussions of Brighton players for sale as of 2022.
That makes Saturday’s game at the Amex Stadium all the more timely, especially as it is the last Premier League game before the summer transfer window closes. It’s a game between a team that has done a really good job of transfer business, a team that is just trying and a team that almost wants to be an elite Brighton side.
This dynamic was all the more apparent given the way Brighton’s efficiency had allowed them to repeatedly humiliate United, almost as a moral lesson. Usually, just when the Manchester club was convincing themselves that an unhealthy strategy was still working, Brighton would disabuse them of that idea. Often with great determination.
A 3-2 defeat at the start of the season that saw Mourinho sacked. A 4-0 defeat at the very moment that Ralf Rangnick warned United of what to do next. Erik ten Hag’s side lost 2-1 at the start of the next season, ultimately influencing his tactical changes, before suffering two more defeats.
While many thought United would beat Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final, or that Solskjaer would remain unbeaten, the reason the record is still so impressive is because of the huge difference in resources.
Such results come from a meeting between a club that has wasted billions and one that has maximised all its resources. While the story of how Brighton managed the latter is now well known, the key is how they took control of every decision. That is why Ashworth’s stance on Branthwaite is so important.
Sure, Brighton are often forced to sell players, but their entire strategy is based on a proactive approach and understanding their place in the football food chain. They know they have to sell players. There are bigger, richer clubs out there. While other clubs might be criticised for not seeking to retain players, citing a “lack of ambition”, Brighton’s realism has been key to the club performing beyond the fans’ wildest dreams.
It also means that when they inevitably sell players, it has to be on their terms. As a result, teams pay huge prices for players who often don’t reach those valuations elsewhere. Just as importantly, their successors continue to drive Brighton’s progress.
That’s the level United want to be at, if it counts in their own grand scheme of things. In stark contrast to the sales prices Brighton dictated, United overpaid for a number of players, from Anthony to Rasmus Holland. Those deals were all proposed by the new management, but more pointedly, the relative difficulty of selling players was evident.
The Ugarte deal was put on hold partly because they have yet to sell Sancho and McTominay. Interested clubs found the wages too high, a common complaint.
This is almost the biggest challenge facing the new management: to completely overhaul the team. The main obstacles are the contracts and decisions agreed upon by the former football structure.
Despite this, there is still a belief that United have moved in the right direction this summer.
They have essentially secured three defenders – Lenny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui – for around the same price they paid for Branthwaite.
New chief executive Omar Berrada was said to be particularly interested in signing Yoro to show the kind of deals United could do. They beat Real Madrid and Liverpool to sign the promising defender, which was impressive. Despite the criticism, the £50m-plus valuation fits with the wider market trend towards youth, with higher prices but lower wages.
Likewise, the highest-paid players – Raphael Varane, Anthony Martial – have been removed from the wage bill. There is general satisfaction with salary levels.
The medium-term aim is to streamline everything so the club can be more nimble and act more decisively. It sounds familiar. Of course, it’s just what the best-performing clubs have long done, from Brighton to Dortmund, Liverpool and Manchester City. Any signing fits a particular core philosophy, so they all have a multiplier effect. United have actively resisted this approach in the past.
This confused other clubs, even though they signed him with joy. Now it is different. Even Paris Saint-Germain has noticed the change, because Manchester United certainly won’t panic because of Ugarte.
As for what Saturday meant on the pitch, it comes back to the idea of control. Market control has come to dictate the on-pitch command and amplify these unifying ideas. There are fewer and fewer openings in a team. A team gets to the point where it can sign obvious players, like Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool or Declan Rice at Arsenal.
United are still far from it. Brighton’s level is higher, which means the youngest manager in Premier League history fits right in. However, Fabian Helzler may find there are fewer holes to exploit in the United squad than his predecessor.
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