Robbie Fowler has gone in hard on Manchester United's transfer policy, after their attempts to sign Darwin Nunez look set to fail, claiming the club could have written a book on what not to do.
Liverpool look set to make the biggest transfer of the summer so far, with Nunez's arrival at Anfield set to be confirmed early next week.
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Jurgen Klopp will be spending around €100 million on the forward, having previously claimed he wouldn't spend so much after United signed Paul Pogba back in 2016.
The Premier League and Champions League runners up have had to move quickly, with some competition for the transfer from their rivals down the M62.
Fowler thinks that the attempt by Erik ten Hag's side highlights the issues with the transfer policy at Old Trafford, going after players just because their rivals want them.
"I don’t want to be cruel, but United could have written a book on how not to do transfers in recent seasons. Signing players just because you don’t want them to go to a rival? Check and double check," the former Liverpool striker wrote in his Mirror column.
"Cristiano has done his job well enough, but signing him because he could have gone to City? That just had disaster written all over it. And the same with Alexis Sanchez. No, not the same, 10 times worse.
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"That deal highlights everything that has been wrong at Old Trafford. How much did it cost? About 500 grand a week in wages, which I saw somewhere cost them about 20 million quid a goal…!
"Much, much worse though, was that it didn’t just break United’s pay structure, it shattered it. That’s how a goalkeeper can end up on £400,000 a week, and a midfielder like Pogba who couldn’t even get in the team half the time on even more."
The 47-year-old does have a point when it comes to United's wage structure being broken by the move for Sanchez, a deal that certainly didn't work out.
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David de Gea ended up asking for a contract close to the one the former Arsenal forward was on, after becoming so integral to the team over the years.
Pogba also got an inflated contract in the aftermath, and never really lived up to its billing, before leaving when his deal expired this summer.
Fowler also might have a point about the club only going after players once their rivals, with both Ronaldo and Sanchez looking set for moves to Manchester City, before United swooped in late on.
However, things were a bit different with Nunez, as Ten Hag's side had been heavily linked with the Benfica forward long before Klopp's side made a move.
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The new manager is said to want a striker as well as prioritising a move for a midfielder, with Frenkie de Jong his preferred target.
On United attempting to sign the Uruguayan, the former Leeds United striker added, "You look at their pursuit of Nunez, and the only chance they have of getting him is by smashing Liverpool’s offer. Tempting him with huge amounts of cash.
"But again, that is following the Sanchez plan and it doesn’t work.
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"What they should do is follow Klopp’s plan when he first arrived at Anfield. He knew he couldn’t compete with the likes of City, United and Chelsea in the market, so he found players they didn’t want - at the right price and wages - and turned them into stars.
"Ten Hag definitely has the qualities as a manager to do that. It takes time, but it’s the right way to go…and he should be given all the time he needs, even if it takes five years like Klopp, or Sir Alex Ferguson."
Now it's just a case of finding a brilliant striker that City, Liverpool and Chelsea don't want, simple really...
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester United, Liverpool, Darwin Nunez, Premier League, Transfers