Imagine it. Thomas Muller rocking up at Old Trafford as a new signing in 2024. No thanks.
The often repeated rumour that Thomas Muller could join Manchester United has been dismissed yet again.
Bayern Munich aggregator account iMiaSanMia referenced German publication Bild in a tweet, which read: “Manchester United had shown interest in Thomas Muller last January. Erik ten Hag believes that, with his experience, Muller could be one of the players to help United back on the right track. Back then however, Muller was not interested.”
It sounds like a throwback to when Ed Woodward had the role as chief executive and thought he could operate with elite clubs in the transfer market. The banker chased big names to appease fans, sell shirts and garner attention. A manipulator to benefit the Glazers.
Talk of Muller, 34, joining United reminds me of when Bastian Schweinsteiger came in 2014. It goes without saying that Basti was an underwhelming signing as well as the fact we need to be moving on from signing forwards in their mid-30s like we did in recent years with Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo. The same could be said about Raphael Varane and Casemiro.
However, Bundesliga expert Jan-Aage Fjortoft claims Bayern are in talks to extend Muller’s contract so the player has no plans to move elsewhere at the moment.
Fjortoft wrote: “Is that time of the year when Thomas Muller starts talking to Bayern about extending his contract… then usually Manchester United are mentioned / used to speed up the talks… and at the end the Bayern – legend will sign for another year.”
I can’t help but agree that this is just a tactic used to get Muller a new deal at Bayern.
There’s no way Sir Jim Ratcliffe is going to come in, hire experts to run the recruitment side of things only for United to end up signing Muller.
Louis van Gaal could have done with Muller at United, but it’s too late in his career to come to Old Trafford. We need to move on from that weak strategy in the transfer market.
Get the latest Manchester United news, opinion, interviews and exclusive features with the Stretty Newsletter – Ad Free! Kick off your afternoon with the Stretty News verdict on all matters Manchester United.
More must-reads: