Ed Woodward feels transfer speculations 'ignore the realities' of coronavirus effect

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has suggested that the club’s speculated lavish summer spending could be well off the mark because of the COVID-19 outbreak throughout the football world. 

Last summer, the Red Devils brought Harry Maguire for a world-record fee, a move that was criticized a lot considering how it went with Paul Pogba.

Apart from Harry, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Daniel James and Bruno Fernandes in January were the players who made the switch to the ‘Theatre of Dreams’. 

However, with a decent season halted with nine Premier League games to play, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer thinks the team needs a player or two to start challenging for the title from next season and win more and more silverware. 

In this transfer window, Manchester United is one of the very few clubs who have the courage and spend in the window despite the financial impact caused by the lockdown. 

It was also confirmed by the end of March that Aston Villa skipper Jack Grealish, Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Birmingham’s Jude Bellingham are United’s three priority signing this summer.

However, Old Trafford is also linked with a big-money move for Tottenham’s Harry Kane after the England captain recently refused to rule out a move away. Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez has also been on the United radar but he won’t be cheap either.

Woodward has now come out and clarified that the transfer speculations linking the club with very high-profile moves for expensive talents have ignored the realities that the sport is facing now. 

Speaking to a United fans’ forum via conference call, Woodward said, “Nobody should be under any illusions about the scale of the challenge facing everyone in football and it may not be ‘business as usual’ for any clubs, including ourselves, in the transfer market this summer.”

He also said that the focus of the team is to win and do whatever it takes to win but keeping such high hopes in this difficult time may lead to the fans being disappointed when reality hits, considering the financial picture before everything gets back to normal.

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