Man Utd: Ratcliffe ‘doubts’ emerge over spending £100m on any player in ‘coming years’ | OneFootball

There are doubts at Man Utd that Sir Jim Ratcliffe will sanction a move for a player worth £100m or more in the ‘coming years’, according to reports.

The Red Devils had an underwhelming transfer deadline day with incomings or outgoings of note on a day which threatened much more for Man Utd.

There had been plenty of rumours leading up to the final day of the window to encourage Man Utd fans that the club would get a left-back through the door and potentially a striker, if Joshua Zirkzee had left.

However, Man Utd had to settle for a midfield revamp with the Red Devils signing Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba from Aston Villa, Chelsea and Brighton respectively.

Man Utd decided against signing several players in the summer transfer window because of their club’s asking price with Sandro Tonali, Elliot Anderson, Alex Scott and Aurelien Tchouameni among the stars considered too expensive.

Explaining their decision to not push the boat out for some of the more expensive signings this summer, The Athletic‘s Laurie Whitwell raised ‘doubts’ that Man Utd will make a signing over £100m anytime soon.

Whitwell wrote: ‘This reflects a wider policy of refusing to be drawn into bidding wars where the final price is at odds with their valuation of the player. For some in the industry, that is a mistake, meaning United are not acquiring the top talents necessary to achieve their ambition for a Premier League title by 2028. They remember the way United decided against going for Declan Rice, who cost Arsenal £105m, in 2023.

‘After this summer, United are the only member of the traditional big six not to have surpassed the £100m mark for a player and under Ratcliffe’s control, alongside the Glazer family, there are doubts about whether they will commit to such a fee in the coming years. There is a theory, though, that bringing in several less expensive players rather than one standout will have a bigger impact on the squad.’

Man Utd star Bruno Fernandes loves Alex Scott

Man Utd captain Bruno Fernandes would have clearly been happy at the Red Devils pushing the boat out for Bournemouth’s Scott after praising the midfielder.

When asked to name a Premier League star who could be named in the next PFA Team of the Year, Fernandes replied: “There’s always a lot [of exciting players]

“There is one player that I really like and that is Alex Scott from Bournemouth.

“Obviously you always know that the big teams get looked at a little bit more than other teams but I think what he did last season was great.

“I think he’s someone that could easily be up for that [the PFA Team of the Year].”