Leaked: The unrealistic figure Man United were willing to pay for Lewis Hall | OneFootball

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The obvious area that Manchester United should have addressed on deadline day was at left-back.

Luke Shaw’s injury record is poor and the Englishman has struggled in pre-season as well as in the first two Premier League games.

Michael Carrick understood the need for reinforcements. However, INEOS failed to sign either Alejandro Balde or Jorge Salinas before the transfer deadline.

The co-owners’ logic was that they are keeping their powder dry so as to go after dream target Lewis Hall next summer.

Lewis Hall chase faltered due to INEOS’ one-dimensional approach

But why could the Red Devils not sign the Newcastle ace this year? It has been relayed by The Peoples Person that the 21-year-old was open to a switch ahead of the current campaign.

The Athletic have revealed a couple of damning details. United’s focus on revamping the midfield first saw the Magpies sell the likes of Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes.

That meant the St. James’ Park outfit did not need to move the England international on when United came calling later in the window.

Incidentally, the 20-time English league champions were open to paying as much as £50 million for Lewis Hall.

How much United were ready to pay for Lewis Hall revealed

But Newcastle had upped their price by then, and INEOS were in no position to pay as much after signing three midfielders.

“United looked at a deal around the £50m mark for Hall, who is 22 next week, and at that point believed a move to Old Trafford, and Champions League football, would have held appeal to him.

“But the pursuit significantly slowed down about three weeks before deadline day when chief executive Berrada placed a call to Newcastle counterpart David Hopkinson to directly address the matter. He was told Hall was not for sale and the club essentially accepted this stance.

“After selling Anthony Gordon, Tonali and Guimaraes, Newcastle would not countenance losing another key player, given rising fan sentiment, nor did they need to financially. Had United tried earlier, things may have been different, but at that stage they were still manoeuvring through midfielders.

Next summer’s plans drawn up

“Man United did not move to sign another left-back of major profile, to keep the path clear for Hall in future. The situation is expected to be revisited next summer.”

United seem confident they can land their man next summer, with a defensive revamp on the cards.

But with Carrick only having Shaw as his sole specialist senior option, it remains to be seen if the head coach remains in place to welcome Hall to the Theatre of Dreams.