O. A.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe will one day have to explain why Manchester United didn’t follow Michael Carrick’s recommendation of the four players he felt the club needed in the summer window – Elliot Anderson, Lewis Hall, Morgan Rogers and, fourth on the list, Mateus Fernandes. Were debt repayments restricting their buying power? Was it simply because United felt the fees were too much for them? In the case of Fernandes, United certainly felt Spurs overpaid for the midfielder from relegated West Ham - £85m for a player West Ham bought from Southampton a year earlier for £38m. But everyone knew the market was inflated and those were the fees being demanded – and commanded – for such young talent, especially in a World Cup summer. Anderson went for £114m, Rogers for £115m. Hall (overlooked for World Cup) could probably have been got for £60m+ before he committed to Newcastle United. Anderson would have transformed United's midfield - certainly more than the £150m spent on Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba and Youri Tielemans. Hall was the obvious choice to fill the problem position of left-back with Luke Shaw injured and 31. There used to be a time when Manchester United would go for “best in class” players, even if that meant chunky fees. Not now. That has to change. Mauricio Pochettino will certainly expect Ratcliffe and Jason Wilcox to think bigger in the transfer market - more befitting of a club United's size. Carrick, understanding the challenge United faced in the summer, wanted United to buy properly. They didn't. An indication of the way ahead will be whether Mauricio Pochettino's title is head coach or manager (and driving recruitment like Arteta, Emery). #MUFC