Marc Skinner not concerned about transfer impact if Man Utd miss out on Champions League
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Manchester United manager Marc Skinner has said he is not concerned about a negative knock-on effect on summer transfer plans if the club falls short of qualifying for the Champions League on the final day of the WSL season.
United look set to stay fourth, one behind the Champions League qualifying places, as they need to both beat Chelsea and get a huge favour from Reading against Manchester City on the final day.
But the boss, who is coming towards the end of his first season in the job, remains confident that the idea of joining ‘Manchester United’ in tandem with the club’s rapid growth is enough of a lure for prospective transfer targets with or without the Champions League.
“Not necessarily,” Skinner explained when asked if missing out on a top three finish will cause a problem in terms of recruitment strategy.
“We’ve already done a lot of work behind the scenes towards [transfers]. When you’re in the Champions League, I think it opens up a different kind of door to players – we’d be silly not to think that way. But you would be surprised, or probably you wouldn’t, by just how attractive an opportunity Manchester United is for a player because there is so much growth.
“They can see the direction we’re travelling. Maybe [not being in the Champions League] does affect the top 2% of players, but Manchester United is a very attractive club.”
Skinner has previously confirmed United are looking to sign players in five key positions to boost squad depth ahead of next season – striker, ‘number 10’, winger, midfielder and centre-back.
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Having Euro 2022 on the calendar this summer, when potential targets might be pre-occupied with representing their countries does create some obstacles. But while the ideal would be to have players signed before the tournament begins – as was the case with Jackie Groenen ahead of the 2019 World Cup – the most important factor for Skinner is just getting deals done at any point.
“I’m trying to work now to make [signing players] before Euro 2022 a possibility,” he said.
“[But] as long as we get the players, it doesn’t matter when they come in. I’d like them to come in for pre-season if they’re not involved in competitions, but we’re going to keep working.
“It really isn’t that easy. If we get them in, that is going to be the most important outcome for us.”
The Huracan Foundations' 'Keep girls in school in 2022' aims to improve opportunities for girls and reduce gender inequalities.
The global pandemic exacerbated gender inequality issues in a number of countries, and that is why in 2022 four new project leads are focused on using football to make a real difference to girls' lives in remote communities across Uganda and India. To find out more click here.
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