Manchester United left it too late to sell unwanted players to Saudi Arabia – Man United News And Transfer News

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There is a belief within Manchester United that the club left it too late to initiate their efforts to sell unwanted players in their ranks to Saudi Arabia.

A report covered by The Peoples Person noted that Murtough recently travelled to Saudi to begin negotiations over deals for a number of major stars at Old Trafford, either in January or next summer.

United chiefs who made their way to the Gulf state held “extensive discussions” with representatives of the Saudi Pro League in Riyadh.

It was relayed that while no agreements were reached on any future transfers, the talks were crucial in establishing good and important relationships for United.

The likes of Anthony Martial, Raphael Varane, Casemiro and Jadon Sancho are some of the stars who have been linked with links to Saudi.

During the summer transfer window, the Saudi Pro League embarked on a vigorous campaign to sign some of Europe’s biggest stars in an attempt to drive up the country’s football scene.

Some big names they managed to land include Fabinho, Karim Benzema, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, Ruben Neves, N’Golo Kanté and many others to add to Cristiano Ronaldo’s prior arrival.

During the same period, United only managed to sell Alex Telles to Al-Nassr.

According to The Athletic, there are some at Old Trafford who believe Murtough was not proactive enough and could have acted much sooner when the opportunity to shift some deadweight presented itself.

“Murtough has also been in Saudi Arabia with Hargreaves to establish connections before a January window that would see United open to offers for Casemiro, Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial.”

“Initial feedback from these talks is that while contacts have been established, Saudi club squads are full and greatly restricted on signings due to regulations, leaving some close to United believing this work should have been done earlier in the year to take advantage of the boom during the summer.”

The result of Murtough and United’s hesitation is that the club may find themselves saddled with high-earning players they can’t easily get rid of.