Man Utd increase budget as club presses ahead with plans to replace star

With less than three weeks remaining of this summer’s transfer window, manager Erik ten Hag will be worrying over the imbalanced squad he inherited and the lack of signings to correct it.

Thus far, only three players have been signed and none are in the most urgent positions. Tyrell Malacia, who was the first signing of the summer, joined a pool of four senior left-backs.

Christian Eriksen followed before Lisandro Martinez became the seventh senior centre-back on the books at Old Trafford.

A position that has largely been overlooked this summer is the goalkeeper department. Dean Henderson’s exit, coupled with Lee Grant’s release in June, has left United light in that area.

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Now, according to The Athletic, United have made the decision to increase their transfer budget for that area in a bid to strengthen the line of goalkeepers behind David de Gea.

As per the report, the budget has been raised from £1m to £7m and the decision comes after Henderson’s explosive pre-season interview.

There is an acceptance that now, a second-choice goalkeeper must be signed before the window closes. Prior to Henderson’s ill-advised comments, it is believed that a third-choice shot-stopper was on the agenda.

SN’s verdict…
There are a couple of positions that are in urgent need of addressing and although a signing goalkeeper may not be completely acute, it would be unwise to go into the season with just De Gea and Tom Heaton.

Should De Gea pick up an injury or suspension, Heaton would have to cover and the 36-year-old is far from the profile Erik ten Hag prefers in that position. Furthermore, he has made just one senior appearance for the club.

Finding the right player is difficult, however. A year after letting him go, United may regret their decision to discard Sergio Romero after the Argentinian played that role to perfection.

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