Man Utd moving to sign another Odion Ighalo before transfer window shuts
Man Utd signed Odion Ighalo back in the January transfer window of 2020
PA
At Manchester United, history looks set to repeat itself.
With Luke Shaw sidelined through injury, Erik ten Hag is looking to strengthen at left-back. Rather than go with a player who can drive the club to new heights, however, there's now talk of Ryan Bertrand arriving.
That's not to discredit Bertrand. He's always been a dependable player, including when he was at Chelsea and helped the Blues to Champions League glory.
Yet at the age of 34, he's a player on the wane. His four Premier League outings for Leicester last season are proof of that.
Ryan Bertrand is being linked with a surprising move to Man Utd
PA
United were once the biggest and best team in the land, both on and off the pitch.
Rivals would marvel at the winning machine assembled by Sir Alex Ferguson, with many teams fearing the worst before a ball had even been kicked.
But United aren't that same side anymore. With the Glazers reluctant to spend any of their own money, and only the club's, they're being held back.
In January 2020, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer desired a new striker.
He felt Anthony Martial wasn't good enough, while he'd also sanctioned the departure of Romelu Lukaku mere months previously.
The United of old would have gone for the best. While signing players in January can be difficult, they'd at least have tried.
Yet instead, Solskjaer was forced to look for players who would only be at the club to provide the Norwegian with an option, instead of being somebody to start week in, week out.
United eyed Josh King before ultimately settling for the arrival of Odion Ighalo, who joined on loan from Shanghai Shenhua.
Though the Nigeria international had been a goalscorer during his previous stint in England with Watford, he was a player on the decline at the time of his arrival.
And while he did well enough by scoring five goals, Ighalo only stayed a year so United could save themselves some cash.
Fast-forward to now and the Red Devils are looking to recruit Bertrand, who is currently a free agent.
As mentioned above, he's had a positive career - even if his spell at Leicester failed to live up to expectations.
But Manchester City wouldn't sign Bertrand, even if one of their current defenders was to become injured for the foreseeable future.
It wouldn't happen at Arsenal or Liverpool, either. Chelsea would go the opposite direction and spend millions on a player in order to satisfy the needs of Mauricio Pochettino.
Not United, though. Things are different at Old Trafford.
Of course, it's possible United won't complete a deal for Bertrand. They have other options up their sleeve as well.
Yet it's damning that a club that make more money than pretty much any other in world football is scouring the freebie market.
If United are serious about winning trophies, they'd sign a player capable of competing with Shaw.
Though they have Tyrell Malacia, having three senior left-backs all keeping each other on their toes would be a shrewd move.
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Man Utd need a left-back to replace Luke Shaw
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But that seems unlikely to happen. It'll be a veteran who can simply do a job. Hardly the ambitions of a team serious about winning a first Premier League title since Ferguson's retirement all the way back in 2013...
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