Manchester United’s summer of 2021 is now remembered as the turning point in Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s reign; the sentimental decision to sign Cristiano Ronaldo the headline act as United set off on the wrong course after a few years of building steadily. But back then, even before the signing of Ronaldo, there was optimism aplenty around Old Trafford. United swatted aside Leeds 5-1 on the opening day to fuel talk of a first genuine title charge since Alex Ferguson’s retirement.
They had, after all, just signed the most coveted young English player on the market in Jadon Sancho and looked to pair the £74m man with Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba, their creative fulcrum, and an exciting set of forwards. Sancho was a substitute that day but Pogba was at the height of his powers, notching four assists against Leeds – equalling the Premier League record for assists in a game. United also had Donny van de Beek, a £35m signing from 2020 who many expected to fire having been a star for Ajax, as well as the homegrown players Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, plus Anthony Martial.
Whether this squad needed Ronaldo was hardly the point; either way Solskjær was blessed with an array of attacking talent. That many of these players have since slipped into obscurity – Pogba and Sancho are without clubs – is perhaps a suggestion that it would never have clicked for United, for all of Solskjær’s good intentions. The Norwegian, flanked by Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna, sought to tweak United’s style from counterattacking to something more possession-based and dominant.
But after a few damaging defeats, beaten handily at home by would-be title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool, they found morale in the dressing room difficult to turn around. Just not good enough.” Pogba and Sancho have become two of the posterboys for United’s flawed planning under Solskjær and, more broadly, in the years when Ed Woodward was the chief executive. For many years post-Ferguson, United chased big names in the hope of selling shirts and attracting advertisers, a strategy that culminated in the Ronaldo deal when the Glazers believed snapping up the United legend from under Manchester City’s noses would equate to a huge PR win with supporters.
Spending a combined £163m on Pogba and Sancho in 2016 and 2021 respectively, bookending this period of excess, reflects the muddled decision-making at United in the Woodward years. These transfers were presented as homecomings by United on social media – “this is his home, this is where he belongs” was the strapline to the Sancho announcement – but the former Borussia Dortmund forward in particular looked unready to handle the pressure. Solskjær later revealed that an ear infection had put Sancho in hospital shortly after his transfer was sealed, setting back his progress.
Jadon’s skill, link-up play, he offered something different.” A simple illustration of Sancho’s underwhelming spell at United is the fanfare – or lack of – that accompanied his exit this summer. The winger, now 26, was quietly allowed to leave after his contract expired, having barely played for United in the past three years, spending time on loan at Dortmund, Chelsea and Aston Villa. Sancho remains a free agent, no longer chased by Europe’s elite and only sporadically linked with a move this summer.
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