A call across town
Rayan Ait-Nouri’s agent offered his player to Manchester United just days before the window shut. The Red Devils listened. Then they picked up the phone and called Manchester City.
Asking your city rivals to sell you a possible starter. It was always going to raise eyebrows. The Manchester Evening News reports that the two clubs did, in fact, talk in the final hours of the transfer window.
They got stuck on the deal. United wanted a straight transfer. City wanted a loan with an obligation to buy. No one blinked. Ait-Nouri stays at the Etihad.
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A year on, it still does not add up
The 25-year-old Algerian arrived from Wolverhampton last summer for 36 million pounds. Since then, he has played 31 matches for the Skyblues. Not a single nailed-on starting spot.
Injuries have had a say. So has the Africa Cup of Nations, which kept him out for several weeks. In that time, Nico O’Reilly has settled on the left side. Josko Gvardiol has also been used there at the start of this season.
So there you have it: a big-money signing, good enough for this level, and somehow third in the pecking order at his own club.
United are back to square one
On the other side of town, Michael Carrick was looking for cover for Luke Shaw. The Lewis Hall move had already fallen through. So had the Alejandro Balde one: Barca wanted a permanent deal, United were only offering a loan. Same dead end, twice over.
Three targets, three failures, and still no real backup in that position. Shaw will keep going for now. United can only hope his back holds up.
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