12
Manchester United hardly put up a fight in the Manchester derby and eventually succumbed 1-3 to Manchester City in their Premier League game on Sunday.
Manager Erik ten Hag seemed to suggest it was a game of small margins but the gulf in class was there for all to see. Injuries have not helped matters for the Dutchman but the team did not arrive with any hopes of taking home all three points from the Etihad.
The manager brought on Antony, Sofyan Amrabat with his team chasing the game and that seemed to sum up where the club is currently at after years of overspending on wrong players under the Glazers era.
The Moroccan was at fault for the third of the game, with Rodri robbing him of possession near the penalty box while Erling Haaland provided the finishing touch.
Amrabat’s poor season
The manager thought his former FC Utrecht protege could do a job for the Red Devils in Casemiro’s absence and that is why a loan move was sanctioned in the summer. The 27-year-old has not looked comfortable at all with the pace of the English game catching him out on numerous occasions.
As The Peoples Person recently relayed, there are regrets on both the player and club’s side that they agreed to a loan in the summer when the midfielder did not have a proper pre-season while the club have not given him a consistent run of games in his preferred position.
There were rumours of the loan ending early but despite interest from Barcelona and Juventus, United did not agree to terminate the loan early considering they paid an initial loan fee of €9 million and because of the injuries that ravaged the squad.
But as seen from the derby error, Amrabat’s temporary move is unlikely to end in a permanent contract with United having the option to buy the Fiorentina star for €20 million plus another €5 million in add-ons.
Transfer value going down
As Football Italia claimed, the Serie A team are now concerned that the player will return to them in the summer with a reduced market value that will ultimately cost them big time.
“Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat is edging ever closer to a return, as Manchester United will not want to take up their option to buy after his howler against Manchester City.
“Fiorentina are therefore going to be faced with a conundrum when he returns to base, having to find him another club, knowing the time in Manchester only lowered his transfer value.”
Playing in an unfamiliar left back position has also not helped matters. As seen on Transfermarkt, Amrabat’s value has gone down by €2 million since his summer move to Old Trafford.
United have had this effect with plenty of stars in the recent past with Ten Hag’s transfer record full of such misses. INEOS need to get the recruitment spot on from next season.