The executive vice-chairman of Manchester United Ed Woodward said the club aims to be competitive in the transfer market this summer but that can only happen if there is “visibility of a path through” the coronavirus pandemic.
Ed Woodward has earlier stressed that this summer’s transfer window would not be “business as usual” due to the coronavirus crisis which has halted football and other socio-economic activities across the world.
His statement put a strong block on the dream of the club’s coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to bring some big names to the club this summer.
Some of such big names are Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho whose price tag is about £100 million and Tottenham’s Harry Kane whose price tag is about £200 million.
In what looks like a reversed decision, Ed Woodward told United fans forum that the board of the club is ready to support Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to do all it takes to win trophies.
Ed Woodward says Man U is Not Immune to the impact of COVID-19
The football administrator, however, noted that despite the fact that Manchester United is financially buoyant than most clubs, the club is not immune to the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“As I said before and I’ve said this many times – we remain committed to backing Ole to win trophies”, he said.
“It feels somewhat inappropriate to see speculation about transfers for hundreds of millions in current circumstances.
“There’s a big disconnect between those stories and the economic realities facing football clubs in general
“Clearly it’s true we are fortunate to be in a strong financial position compared to many clubs, but we are not immune from the financial impact of what this virus is doing.
“I would say that once we have that visibility of a path through the crisis and coming out of the other side to relative normality, then, of course, we aim to remain highly competitive in the market.”
As Manchester United is looking for ways to support Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win trophies, the board of the club would not want to generate revenues far below the £627.1 million they generated during the 2018-2019 season.
The chance the club has to balance its books to an extent this season which has been interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic since March is to spend prudently in the transfer market. But Manchester United won’t mind trading profits for trophies.
