‘Blame Jim Ratcliffe’ – Man United forced to pay extra £26m to agree marquee signing
Jim Ratcliffe has cost Manchester United millions with his latest blunder in the transfer market.
Ratcliffe took control of the Red Devils back in December 2023, ending the controversial reign of the Glazer family.
However since his arrival, the INEOS CEO has made a number of heavily criticised financial decisions, including sanctioning the redundancies of hundreds of Man United staff.
This summer, Ratcliffe has been investing in Ruben Amorim’s squad, bringing in Matheus Cunha, before a deal for Bryan Mbeumo was confirmed on Monday (21 July).
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Ratcliffe’s poor transfer strategy led to United having to pay well over the odds to secure Mbeumo’s signature.
‘Man United suffer after lowball offers’
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that Man United could’ve signed Mbeumo for £60million, but due to their lowball starting offer, Brentford held out for £71m.
The Red Devils’ first bid for the 25-year-old was a lowly £45m, but the Bees were keen to hold out for a fee over the £62.5m paid for Cunha.
Wyness added that Ratcliffe didn’t want to be taken advantage of, but ended up costing United £11m.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Man United started off this deal, as I understand it, at £45m, and here we are, they’re now paying £71m.
“This, in my view, is a case of Brentford and the facts changing in the transfer market as it went forward and other deals started to happen. So they saw Man United paying £62.5m for Cunha and they started seeing other bids coming in for Mbeumo that were starting to be much higher.
“As the weeks went on, things changed and so they pushed their demands higher. What I’m getting at as well is that if Man United had been sensible, they probably could have got this locked up at £60m, if they’d gone in with £60m as their first offer.
“My hunch is that it’s Ratcliffe is the one that’s saying, look, I don’t want Man United to be taken advantage of like they have been in past transfer windows, so we’re never going to be overpaying for players.
“Now, I get that position, but it also means going in low on everything doesn’t work either. You’ve got to come in at sensible levels. In this case, I think he’s cost himself £11m.”
Man United make decision on signing Chelsea star
Meanwhile, Man United will only make a move for Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson if the price is right, sources have told Football Insider.
Jackson has been heavily linked with a Stamford Bridge exit this summer, after the Blues signed Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.
However, sources say that United are in a difficult financial position, and they can’t afford to sign the 24-year-old if Chelsea set a high asking price.
Reportedly, the West London side want over £80million for the Senegal international, which would be too expensive for the Red Devils (Sky Sports).
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