Manchester United Confirm Spending Spree Will Continue, Real Madrid Player Linked To Old Trafford
Manchester United have confirmed that they plan on continuing their spending spree over the coming transfer windows.
According to the BBC, a sales prospectus from the club has declared that Manchester United “anticipate a higher level of net player capital expenditure.” This news came after Manchester United’s part-owner, Edward Glazer, put three million shares up for sale.
It’s believed that the sale of these shares should be concluded by the end of the week. When Manchester United’s former owner, Malcolm Glazer, died in May 2014 he gave an equal share of the club to his six children.
Edward Glazer’s personal holding of Manchester United will be reduced to around 15% because of this sale. Edward Glazer is expected to make $45 million from this transaction and he will use it for personal estate planning.
The prospectus explained that Manchester United are going to use their money to “retain talent and enhance the calibre of our team in the near term.”
In the past 18 months Manchester United have spent over $300 million on players. This included the $100 million that they spent on bringing Angel Di Maria to Old Trafford from Real Madrid, while Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera each cost dozens of millions of dollars, too.
But despite these purchases, Manchester United still find themselves behind Chelsea and Manchester City in the Premier League table. However, they have made a remarkable improvement since Louis Van Gaal replaced David Moyes as manager at the English soccer behemoth.
Moyes was sacked after he could only lead Manchester United to a seventh place finish in the Premier League last season. Under Van Gaal, Manchester United have undergone a huge transformation to their squad and are beginning to play the attacking brand of soccer that their fans demand.
Despite this progression, Manchester United are still some way behind their rivals, though. And in order to reach the same level as Manchester City and Chelsea, Manchester United are set to make a bid for Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale. According to the Express, “Man Utd are in with a chance of landing Gareth Bale this summer” because Real Madrid want to purchase Marco Reus from Borussia Dortmund.
The Manchester Evening News has even corroborated this rumor by reporting that Louis Van Gaal and Manchester Untied are “monitoring” Bale’s situation at Real Madrid before making their move.
Meanwhile, the club has also been linked to the likes of Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben, Atletico Madrid’s Diego Godin and Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne, too.
However, Manchester United aren’t expected to make any moves for these players until the summer.
[Image via BP]
