Michael Olise has ticked enough of the INEOS boxes to become their only ‘approved’ summer target thus far. The new part-owners of Manchester United have reportedly put £60m of their transfer kitty aside for the Crystal Palace star, who is a boyhood Red Devils fan and is said to prefer a move to United over Liverpool, Chelsea or whoever else may be chasing his signature this summer.
It all sounds fairly straightforward for Olise to head to Old Trafford, but rarely is when it comes to United, and we’ve come up with five reasons why what looks like a smart move won’t actually come to pass.
No structure, no deal
Omar Berrada will be the new CEO, Dan Ashworth looks to become the sporting director, or take up a similar position of a different name, and United have also been in talks with Southampton’s Jason Wilcox over taking on a senior recruitment role at Old Trafford.
Berrada has been confirmed, Ashworth’s appointment is said to be ‘a matter if time’ and even if they don’t get Wilcox, there’s at least a desire to hire a renowned operator for that chief recruitment position. But the structure isn’t in place yet, and even if we assume it’s all sorted by the time the transfer window opens, we don’t know how smoothly it will run initially, or how many of their rivals have been whispering sweet nothings in Olise’s ears by the time those transfer chiefs are in situ.
There’s also the small matter of who will be the next Manchester United manager. Erik ten Hag is Erik ten Toast, and though it appears that in this structure a new manager will have minimal say in the signings – certainly initially – selecting someone to coach and run the team will presumably be significantly higher on the list of priorities for the CEO and directors than buying a new right winger.
Sell to buy
It’s probably the most glaringly obvious area in need of improvement, given the mess that is United’s collection of wingers.
Antony has been woeful and and there are off-field matters to consider. Mason Greenwood had charges of attempted rape, assault and coercive control against him dropped, but welcoming him back would be a PR disaster for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS. Jadon Sancho ‘isn’t completely happy’ but has rediscovered his dancing feet at Borussia Dortmund and will presumably do everything not to return.
But they need to find buyers for these players, not because Sir Jim couldn’t afford to sign Olise without sales, but because he’s walked into a club with pre-tax losses of £215 million over the last three years, while under Premier League profitability and sustainability rules, clubs are allowed maximum losses of £105 million in that time.
It’s why Paris Saint-Germain’s £80m offer for pure profit Marcus Rashford will be hugely tempting despite United valuing him at £100m, and why Saudi real estate catalogues should be ‘accidentally’ left in Casemiro’s favourite toilet stall.
If there has been anything worse than Manchester United’s record of buying players in recent years it’s their record of selling them, with Daniel James the only player to have been sold for more than £25m since 2019. They will need to get that right before opening the chequebook this summer.
Mohamed Salah leaves Liverpool
It’s all gone a bit quiet on the Salah to Saudi front, but those rumours will surely intensify as we get closer to the summer transfer window. The Egyptian would be a hugely marketable addition for any of those Saudi Pro League sides, and Liverpool would be daft to turn down what will likely be a ludicrous sum for a player with one year left to run on his contract.
Should it happen, Liverpool won’t just be in the market for a goalscoring right winger like Olise – whom they were keen on in the summer and again in January – but they’ll also have a significant wedge of cash through Salah’s sale to increase their chances of landing him and their other summer targets.
Also, we know Olise is a United fan, but playing in this Liverpool team, with Trent Alexander-Arnold or Conor Bradley behind him – even with Jurgen Klopp leaving – must be a pretty tempting prospect.
