David de Gea contract is first test of new Manchester United approach to transfers

In Richard Arnold's chat over a pint with Manchester United fans there was one moment where he hinted at some of the mistakes the club has made in recent years.

"Do you want me buying the players? Does that not ring a bell?," Arnold said when discussing transfers with the protestors. The inference was clear and Ed Woodward's desire to try and control footballing issues often backfired.

One of the most significant issues from the Woodward era was United's policy of handing out new contracts as a way of protecting player values. In what is now a challenging transfer market, it has made selling unwanted players difficult and left the club lumbered with some high earners who are on the periphery of the first-team squad.

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Maybe the clearest example is Eric Bailly, who signed a new three-year contract in April 2021 and has played 13 games in 14 months since putting pen to paper. He ended this season behind Phil Jones in the pecking order and will almost certainly leave this summer, but United's hand in negotiations has been weakened, rather than strengthened.

Since taking over from Woodward at the start of February, Arnold has tried to do things differently. He has empowered heads of departments to focus on their strengths and that means greater responsibility for football director John Murtough to make decisions.

This transfer window is a major test of Murtough's skills, with the drawn-out pursuit of Frenkie de Jong already feeling like its success or failure will have a major bearing on the assessment of United's summer.

But how contract negotiations are handled will also be instructive, given United have got themselves into trouble