Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has taken great delight in pointing out that Manchester United “could write a book on how not to do transfers”.
The Red Devils looked set to sign Darwin Nunez from Benfica at one point but have now lost to Premier League rivals Liverpool.
Robbie Fowler told The Mirror: “With the record signing of Darwin Nunez looking all but done for Liverpool, what fascinates me is the presence of Manchester United amid the negotiations.
“I can guarantee the Anfield people would have been uneasy with that, as it has the potential to push up not only the price, but the wages too.
“No agent worth his salt wouldn’t use it to get a bigger contract, let’s be clear.
“Man Utd being there in the background – for me – highlights just why this could so easily be another masterstroke for Liverpool in the transfer market, and it’s a point that is so often overlooked in the desperation to see new faces, new signings, new excitement.
“I don’t want to be cruel, but Man Utd could have written a book on how not to do transfers in recent seasons.
“Signing players just because you don’t want them to go to a rival? Check and double check.
“Cristiano [Ronaldo] has done his job well enough, but signing him because he could have gone to Man City?
“That just had disaster written all over it. The same with Alexis Sanchez. No, not the same, 10 times worse.
“That deal highlights everything that has been wrong at Old Trafford. How much did it cost? About 500 grand a week in wages, which I saw somewhere cost them about 20 million quid a goal!
“Much, much worse though, was that it didn’t just break Man Utd’s pay structure, it shattered it.
“That’s how a goalkeeper [David de Gea] can end up on £400,000 a week, and a midfielder like [Paul] Pogba who couldn’t even get in the team half the time on even more.”
Liverpool have agreed a fee for Benfica’s Darwin Nunez understood to be worth €75 million (£64.1 million), with a further €25 million (£21.4 million) in potential add-ons, according to The Athletic.
Nunez, 22, is set to sign a six-year deal with Liverpool and will undergo a medical on Monday.
