Inappropriate to speculate about transfers for hundreds of millions, proclaims Ed Woodward
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Manchester United chief Ed Woodward has admitted that while the club will look to be competitive in the transfer market, it’s inappropriate to speculate about large transfers going forward. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the transfer market into free-fall with values dropping drastically.
It saw many claim that any transfer moving forward will not be the same as before despite clubs still earning a lot of money from various sources. Market values for players have also dropped with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Neymar, Lionel Messi and a others on the list. That still hasn’t changed with a few sides unwavering about their players with Dortmund still valuing Jadon Sancho beyond £100 million.
However, while Ed Woodward, earlier in the week, revealed that the Red Devils will not spend massive amounts of money on players, the Manchester United chief reiterated his fact. But this time, Woodward also admitted that the club will still be competitive in the market and will look to fight alongside the best of the best for the best.
"It feels somewhat inappropriate to see speculation about transfers for hundreds of millions in current circumstances. There's a big disconnect between those stories and the economic realities facing football clubs in general. Clearly it's true we are fortunate to be in a strong financial position compared to many clubs, but we are not immune from the financial impact of what this virus is doing," Woodward said, reported Sky Sports.
"I would say that once we have that visibility of a path through the crisis and coming out of the other side to relative normality, then of course, we aim to remain highly competitive in the market."
The Red Devils were in fantastic form before the season was suspended with the club on an eleven game unbeaten run. That put them in a running for a Champions League qualification spot with Chelsea and Leicester City struggling to maintain their momentum amongst the top four sides. But with the season potentially set to restart soon, Woodward further admitted that the club are not happy about playing behind closed doors but will do it.
"We're not necessarily happy about that, clearly football requires our fans in the stadium for it to be complete, but public health must come first - and as I said, this is down to the Government. It's important to get back to playing football and complete this season once it's safe to do so…we are starting to see some other countries make positive steps in this direction such as Germany. From a UK perspective there is still huge uncertainty,” he added.
