Manchester United need to avoid repeating six transfers if they want be taken seriously

It is clear from the appointments of Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox that Manchester United have grand ambitions under Sir Jim Ratcliffe's stewardship.

The Ineos chief, who secured a minority stake in the club in February, has wasted little time in trying to make long overdue changes at Old Trafford. Securing control of football operations, Ratcliffe has appointed Berrada as the club's new chief executive and Wilcox as technical director.

The aforementioned due are no strangers to one another, having worked alongside each other at Manchester City, meaning they will each bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to their respective roles. Extensive football knowledge is what has been missing from United's hierarchy in recent years.

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Along with Dan Ashworth, who remains United's top target to become their inaugural sporting director, Berrada and Wilcox will be tasked with playing key roles in putting the club back on the map and improving its success rate in the transfer market. United need to improve their recruitment hit rate after a series of errors in recent years.

"The first thing we need to do is get the right people in the right boxes who are managing and organising the club and make sure we get recruitment right," Ratcliffe said last month, speaking on the Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast. "That's such a vital part of running a football club, getting that right."

United have been guilty of committing too many errors on the recruitment front over the last few years, not least since Erik ten Hag's appointment as manager in April 2022. Spending north of £400million on new recruits in that period, you can count the number of signings who have been successful on one hand.

But as well as spending lucrative transfer fees on the likes of Andre Onana, Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro, United have also dipped into the loan market on six occasions during Ten Hag's premiership. The loan market, however, has not brought much success, either.

While the loan market is a useful system for clubs who do not have the financial clout to bring in talented players via transfer fees, it is unusual to see the Premier League's elite make use of it. City, for example, last borrowed a player from another club in 2019, signing Scott Carson on a season-long loan from Derby County to provide backup in the goalkeeping department.

United have not been immune to borrowing a goalkeeper under Ten Hag, signing two on temporary deals during his premiership, bringing in Martin Dubravka from Newcastle United in September 2022 and then Jack Butland in January 2023. Butland was drafted in from Crystal Palace after an injury crisis saw Newcastle forced into recalling Dubravka mid-season.

United have been forced into taking similar action to cover injuries of their own, bringing in Marcel Sabitzer and Sergio Reguilon since the beginning of last season. Sabitzer was drafted in on deadline day in January 2023 cover for Christian Eriksen, and Reguilon was brought in last September after Luke Shaw joined Tyrell Malacia on the sidelines.

Wout Weghorst, who was borrowed from Burnley in January 2023, and Sofyan Amrabat, who is currently on loan from Fiorentina, have also been signed on temporary deals to beef up the squad, but neither of those two were drafted in to cover for an injury. Weghorst was signed to beef up United's attack and Amrabat was brought in to add more defensive nous to United's midfield pool.

None of the six loan signings United have made on Ten Hag's watch have made lasting impacts, though Sabitzer offered a respectable account of himself, chipping in with three goals in 18 games. Amrabat has failed to live up to expectations, Reguilon was hit and miss, Weghorst had never been a United standard striker, Dubravka played just twice and Butland didn't get a kick.

None of the six aforementioned players, with respect, are at the standard of which United should be looking to add to their squad. Of course, as in Reguilon's case, there have been instances where United have been left with little choice to but to borrow a player to cover an injury, but most other elite-level clubs have sufficient strength in depth to manage such situations.

For example, it is hard to imagine Arsenal, City or Liverpool borrowing a striker from Burnley, isn't it? It simply wouldn't happen.

United's decision makers must ensure the squad has enough sufficient depth to cover all scenarios and not encounter situations where dipping into the loan market for below par signings is necessary. If United want to be treated like the likes of City and Liverpool, they need to act like them.