Ten Hag drops ‘tomorrow’ exit bombshell after brilliant Manchester United ‘transfer trick’ revealed

Manchester United repeated an incredible ‘transfer trick’ to ‘outmanoeuvre’ both Real Madrid and Liverpool when signing Leny Yoro for a whole heap of money.

Look closer, Leny

Are Manchester United magicians? Mediawatch only asks because the Daily Mirror website are threatening to pull back the curtain and expose some secrets on this fine Friday morning:

‘Man Utd repeat Mason Mount transfer trick as Erik ten Hag welcomes new signing’

That immediately poses one question: should Manchester United really be trying to repeat a ‘transfer trick’ which saw them make a series of rejected bids before eventually paying roughly what Chelsea wanted for a player who then started eight games all season due to injury? Was that ‘trick’ not entirely on them?

Leny Yoro looks like a real transfer coup but in what world can the signing of an 18-year-old French centre-half and a 24-year-old English midfielder really be compared in any meaningful, relevant way?

And the answer to that really is quite simple: Manchester United ‘have mimicked the move they used to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea, and paid over-odds [sic] for a player whose contract is running out to snatch them away from clubs who wished to wait a year and sign him on a free transfer’.

Translation: they offered significantly more money than anyone else was willing to – or ‘paid over-odds’ – for someone whose contract was expiring in a year. It’s some ‘trick’.

‘Depending on opinion, United has either cunningly or unwittingly paid the player’s fee.’

They have paid at least twice as much as any other club wanted to, then Lille quite sensibly said thank you and ran for the hills. That does not seem particularly ‘cunning’.

‘This idea of paying a premium to beat a club that wants a player for free is not dissimilar to how Mount’s deal played out.’

Yes. And that went incredibly well indeed. What a ‘trick’ paying far more money than any other bidder turned out to be. Best of luck following in those footsteps, Leny.

MORE ON YORO TO MANCHESTER UNITED FROM F365

👉 Manchester United transfer could become ‘nightmare’ as club accused of ‘overpaying’ for Yoro

👉 Leny Yoro ‘threatened with no football’ by Lille if he rejected Man Utd for Real Madrid as ‘pressure’ told

Mount doom

But the Reach family have settled on their line and the Manchester Evening News are ready to sign from the same hymn sheet with their fingers in their ears:

‘Man United’s Mason Mount transfer trick as club all but secures new signing’

It is now described as a ‘tactic’ and later a ‘strategy’, such is the art of paying at least £50m for a player with one year remaining on their contract. Another Erik ten Hag masterclass.

‘United have outmanoeuvred other interested clubs such as Real Madrid by agreeing to pay more…’

The dictionary definition of outmanoeuvre is ‘to do better than an opponent by acting in a way that is cleverer or shows more skill’. And the dictionary definition of cleverer is apparently not ‘to offer at least twice as much money as any other club wanted to for an obviously incredibly talented but ultimately inexperienced 18-year-old, making him the most expensive signing of the summer so far, then to pretend it represents some sort of genius gaming of the transfer market’.

Manchester United have invented paying hilarious sums on money on players with expiring contracts and good for them. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is just built different.

How 2

‘How Man Utd beat Real Madrid to Leny Yoro transfer including first-team promise, Rio Ferdinand meeting… and huge pay-day’ – The Sun website.

*Someone’s* not heard of the old ‘Mason Mount trick’, have they?

Yoro so vain

‘Leny Yoro sends Liverpool message after Manchester United move as transfer clause emerges’ – Manchester Evening News.

You already know how many times Yoro specifically mentioned or even just vaguely referenced Liverpool.

Maybe tomorrow

Moving ever so slightly away from Yoro, the Daily Mirror website bring us some quotes from Ten Hag. Is he divulging even more transfer secrets, like how to sign Donny van de Beek for £35m and sell him for £500,000 four years later?

Not quite. Instead, ‘Ten Hag admits he could still leave Man Utd ‘tomorrow’ in brutal verdict on long-term position at Old Trafford’.

And, well, not really.

“If the United management finds someone tomorrow who they think is better, I’ll go. It’s that simple.”

For a start, that is just Ten Hag explaining the inherent insecurity of football management. He says “those are the mechanisms in football that you have to respect”. If Manchester City find someone tomorrow who they think is better than Pep Guardiola they would be appointed. That’s how it works.

And the point here is that Manchester United spent the first part of the summer exploring whether they could find someone who is better than Ten Hag, before eventually deciding they could not. That isn’t going to change now and so Ten Hag could not ‘still leave Man Utd ‘tomorrow” at all. But you already knew that.

Wat’s the deal?

‘Ollie Watkins to Arsenal transfer depends on one thing with rivals ruled out’ – Daily Mirror website headline.

No disrespect to Stephen Warnock, but Ollie Watkins moving to Arsenal probably ‘depends’ on more than “whether he wants medals and to try and win the Premier League”. It might also rely on such banalities as Arsenal making a bid and Aston Villa accepting it, neither of which seem in any way likely.

Clear as mud

‘Jadon Sancho gives clear response to Mason Greenwood’s Man Utd exit’ – Daily Mirror website headline.

‘Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho appears to have wished Mason Greenwood well on his move to Marseille’ – Daily Mirror website opening paragraph.

It turns out that posting ‘the raising hands emoji’ wasn’t such a ‘clear response’ after all.

Why you gotta be so Jude?

‘Jude Bellingham is all smiles as he attends lavish party in London for launch of Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg’s new drink with England man donning sharp suit and posing with Idris Elba after Euro 2024 agony’ – MailOnline.

Disgraceful. No-one tell Jeff Powell.

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