Phil McNulty's deadline day verdict: Manchester United, Arsenal, Man City, Tottenham and Aston Villa
2025-02-04
Category: sports

There will be widespread consternation among Manchester United fans that they leave the transfer window with their already slim attacking options even thinner than they were when it opened.Head coach Ruben Amorim effectively wiped Marcus Rashford from his mind, leaving the exiled 27-year-old to join Aston Villa on loan, with United sources stating a minimum of 75% of his wages will be covered at Villa Park.Amorim's decision to play teenage England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo as a false nine in the 2-0 home defeat by Crystal Palace, ahead of expensive recognised striker Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, delivered a damning verdict of how little he feels he has at his disposal with that pair.This lack of a striker will be the biggest talking point of a United transfer window that brutally outlined their reduced circumstances, mocking their status as the world's third richest football club.The bottom line was that, given United's current financial status and the requirement to stay on the right side of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), they could not make a statement signing without a statement sale.This is why there was even talk that Mainoo, one of Old Trafford's crown jewels as well as a home-grown product, and Alejandro Garnacho could be sold to create wriggle room elsewhere in the markets.Amorim has kept the young duo, with the big plus coming in the shape of a new five-and-a-half-year contract for emerging 22-year-old Amad Diallo.Lecce's 20-year-old Denmark defender, Patrick Dorgu, was the only major incoming in a deal that could be worth Â£29m, while England under-19s defender Ayden Heaven was taken away from Arsenal.Few, if any, will mourn the departure of Antony to Real Betis on loan, the Brazilian widely touted as arguably the worst purchase in the club's history at Â£81m from Ajax by then manager Erik ten Hag in August 2022.There can be no arguing, however, that this has been a transfer window as underwhelming as United's season so far, but Old Trafford's new hierarchy can also say, with justification, that they were in something of a 'no win' situation.United would have been criticised for running financial risks while wasting money if they had spent on short-term solutions in this window â and they will now be criticised for not spending, when greater financial prudence in the transfer market would have helped them avoid the pitfalls in the past.There has been nothing to excite United's suffering support, with the club 13th in the Premier League after a fifth defeat in six home games.The window has only increased the sense that the rest of this season will be a mixture of holding operation and damage limitation until Amorim can put more of his stamp on the squad in the summer.
Could Arsenal pay price for inactivity?
Arsenal ended the transfer window basking in the elation of that 5-1 thrashing of champions Manchester City, as well as the role played in it by talented teenagers Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.The elephant in the room, as they still trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by six points having played a game more, is Arsenal's failure to bring in the reliable, recognised marksman most seasoned observers believe they need.It is clearly a view shared by manager Mikel Arteta, hence the failed bid to prise England striker Ollie Watkins away from Aston Villa during this window.And the angst hung in the air when Kai Havertz missed a golden chance to put Arsenal 2-0 up against City, social media alive with questions about that lack of a striker, although all was well that ended well as the German later provided a clinical finish in that rout of City.This was a problem that should have been addressed in the summer, when Arsenal were strongly linked with RB Leipzig's Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko, but no deal transpired.Arteta will point to Arsenal's second place behind Liverpool, not only in the table but in goals scored with 49, as well as automatic progress into the last 16 of the Champions League, as proof that there is no need for panic measures.He has a point, but the suspicion remains that Arsenal may yet pay the price for the lack of a match-winning striker as the season goes on.The final judgement must be reserved.
'Man City have barely scratched surface'
Has Pep Guardiola applied a temporary fix to broken Manchester City?Their disappointing season was brought into sharp relief once more by the second-half collapse in that 5-1 defeat at Arsenal, following the pattern of the 4-2 loss away to Paris St-Germain in the Champions League, where they also conceded four goals in the second half.Guardiola's side, who made history last season by winning a fourth successive title, have looked ageing, flawed, frail and a pale shadow of their former all-conquering selves, opponents preying on their vulnerability.The Â£50m capture of Porto's powerful 23-year-old midfield man Nico Gonzalez will add strength to an area robbed of Rodri's world class this season, with problems exacerbated by Kevin de Bruyne (33) and the 30-year-olds Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva all starting to shows signs of miles on the clock.Guardiola finally has his replacement for much-missed Argentina forward Julian Alvarez with the signing of 25-year-old Egypt forward Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt for a deal that could eventually be worth Â£63m.He has also bought two defenders for the future with a Â£33.6m deal for 20-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens, along with teenager Vitor Reis from Palmeiras, who cost Â£29.6m.This is an outlay of close to Â£180m but still only scratches the surface of the rebuilding job Guardiola faces.It remains to be seen if any of the quartet make a serious difference to the fading champions.These seem like just the first bricks in the rebuild, with the bigger work coming in the summer.
Villa back Emery as Spurs also strengthen
Unai Emery has continued his outstanding work at Aston Villa by automatically taking them into the Champions League last 16. European competition has left the occasional hangover for Premier League form, but they are still right in contention for the top four.Emery's fierce ambition was clear in his demands for reinforcements, especially after the Â£65m departure of maverick striker Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.Arsenal's advances for England striker Watkins were rebuffed, leaving Villa to back Emery's ambition with key signings as the transfer window closed.Emery's track record of revitalising players will have Villa hoping he can get Marcus Rashford's career back on track following his loan move from Manchester United, while Marco Asensio, a three-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, will add experience and street wisdom.Axel Disasi, another loan signing from Chelsea, would fulfil the need to strengthen in central defence while Donyell Malan's arrival from Borussia Dortmund will add width and attacking quality.Meanwhile, Tottenham pulled off a late coup in the transfer window with the loan deal for Bayern Munich's talented teenage forward Mathys Tel, with an option for a Â£50m deal and a six-year contract should the move be made permanent.The 19-year-old will add verve to the Spurs attack, while the deal which saw Lens' 26-year-old defender Kevin Danso stolen away from Wolverhampton Wanderers will bolster a defence which has suffered badly because of long-term injuries to Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.But, after missing out on Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi and seeing Axel Disasi opt for Aston Villa, has manager Ange Postecoglou been backed enough?