Is Fergie Calling Our Bluff Over Transfers?

by Tom Mallows

First up is a confession, I am not very good at saving. Whenever I have cash in my pocket I have to spend it, be it on things that prove useful or not. Unfortunately for me the cash I have lying around never amounts to anything substantial – but what if that figure is £80 million? And you choose not to spend it? That is what Sir Alex Ferguson is apparently deciding to do ahead of the new Premier League season.

With Carlos Tevez flying across to the Blue half of the city and Cristiano Ronaldo off to Madrid a gaping hole has been left in Alex Ferguson’s squad. That to some extent has been plugged by the arrival of Antonio Valencia from Wigan, Gabriel Obertan from Bordeaux and, of course, Michael Owen from Newcastle, at an estimated outlay of £20 million.

All talented players but none are the kind of ‘marquee’ signing the fans will have wanted to see to ease the pain of Ronaldo’s departure. Yet despite that Ferguson has declared he will not make any more signings this summer in a transfer market that he says has ‘caught fire’.

Will that be the case? I have to say I have my doubts. The bulk of the Ronaldo money must still be available and there if Fergie wants it. I just get the impression that he is reacting to the super-spending of Real and Manchester City, whose actions in the transfer market have inflated prices to near-ridiculous levels. He knows he can be outbid by both of them and is wisely ducking out of the fight – could you imagine the reaction in Manchester if City beat United to another transfer target?

I suspect the Scot, who is always a canny negotiator, is calling our bluff while Real and City finish off their transfer business, as many other clubs seem to be doing, instead of taking them head on. Once they are out of the transfer market things may cool down a little.

United Chief Executive David Gill has already refused to rule out the possibility of new arrivals this summer, suggesting my theory could be correct. If any more players do arrive at Old Trafford, it seems a safe bet it will be with a transfer fee to Fergie’s liking.

English Premier League, Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Tom Mallows, Transfer News