Manchester United could rue missed Ryan Gravenberch transfer opportunity

It is starting to feel like a broken record at this stage but Manchester United have been in desperate need of reinforcements in midfield for some time.

Fred's departure to Fenerbahce made it a necessity but even before then, the midfield appeared to be out of balance. Against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Casemiro looked overrun with Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes pushing on.

The former Real Madrid midfielder was clearly in need of some help in the centre to help solve this issue and to his credit, Erik ten Hag identified players to solve the problem. Among them was Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat and Bayern Munich's Ryan Gravenberch.

Both players are, or at least were, pro-joining United. Gravenberch would have been particularly keen having played under Ten Hag at Ajax.

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After stuttering at Bayern and not being afforded opportunities to showcase his talents, he was pushing for a fresh challenge. United have instead decided to submit a loan offer for Amrabat with just hours remaining in the window.

Now, there is nothing wrong with approaching the Moroccan over Gravenberch. In fact, Amrabat's performances at the World Cup showed he was ready for the step-up.

However, how the Reds are going about their attempts to sign him are beyond concerning. United are playing with loan offers at this stage of the window which is a disastrous tactic especially when his club do not want him to leave. The club is effectively negotiating from a weak position.

Meanwhile, Gravenberch is understood to be negotiating personal terms with Liverpool as they press ahead with their approach. United's eggs are firmly in just one basket now and there is a real possibility they will not be able to sign