Manchester United must know how much a new No.9 will cost after their last negotiation

Man United can haggle as much as they want but they are their own worst enemies and their reputation still precedes them in the transfer market.

June is on the horizon and the warmer the weather the more irritable the Manchester United supporter.

There is still no decision on the ownership, the Mason Greenwood process is nearing the five-month mark and this could be the second successive June they have not signed a player.

Football fans are not known for being patient in the transfer market, with United’s contract broker approval ratings soaring as much as Boris Johnson’s lie detector graph.

Made worse by United’s rivals. Liverpool signed world champion Alexis Mack Allister at a bargain, Manchester City replaced treble winner Matteo Kovacic before leaving, and Declan Rice moved to Rhine Central and Piccadilly. It seems destined to bring him to Arsenal.

Chelsea acted as if Ed Woodward was in the boardroom last season, but have moved the stillbirth to Saudi Arabia with a new sign, Christopher Nkunku.

This leaves United’s pursuit of Mason Mount at the wrong time. United insist they are not currently willing to pay too much for Mount as Chelsea can train themselves to withstand higher transfer fees. I hear that kind of story a lot from United, and we do it almost every year.

Ajax were adamant last summer that they would not sell Anthony for less than £60million. United have agreed a package worth £85.51 million. Casemiro’s latest transfer fee could be £70million. As strong as United’s bargaining power is, clubs have the power to back down and will always support them.

United have given the impression that the club is underperforming. A dead end had to always exist in the mount. Chelsea have a 24-year-old creator, a Champions League and club world champion, a veteran who has won three FA Cup finals and an England international who started the European Championship final alongside a World Cup appearance.

However, Mount wants to leave when his contract expires next June and has made 13 appearances in the past six months. United will have to haggle, especially while the frugal Glazer family secures a six-seat row in the Old Trafford box.

Unless United acted cautiously, they would no doubt have gone straight to the mount when the priority was on either side of the pitch. They have enough good defenders to beat David De Gea’s clean sheet and what they need more urgently is a reliable goalscorer.

The season isn’t over yet and United reacted to Harry Kane after being disappointed by rumors that Tottenham would not sell him. Other targets, Victor Osimhen, Rasmus Hoylund and Randall Koro Muani, were found to be rated as well.

What did United expect? Hoylund and Muani, 20 and 24, are internationals who play in the major European leagues and are under contract until 2027. The 24-year-old Osimhen is arguably the most valuable No. 9 in world football after Napoli ended a 33-year title streak.

The average bettor knew months ago that the new United No9 would have an asking price of around £100 million. Earlier this year, United officials argued that money had been allocated for the centre-forward, but that he would need to leave the club to accommodate new midfield signings.

It should still be. Fred has admitted that his future is uncertain after being offered a move to Fulham after the FA Cup final and his fan Scott McTominay.

But there is one striker who will define United’s second season under Ten Haag. Cristiano Ronaldo has abandoned principles of professionalism to save United £16m and sees no need for a sale to fund a new starting striker.

Some of United Airlines may need a refresher. Six years ago, United agreed a £90million transfer fee for Romelu Lukaku, who has a year left on his Everton contract. United beat Chelsea blindly to turn Lukaku’s head off, but the striker, in his early 20s, has agreed to demand a club-record transfer fee.

That was at a time when United’s summer budget was capped at £150m, and a crucial month before Neymar and Kylian Mbappe moved to Paris Saint-Germain. Lukaku failed to score or stay long enough to receive the £15m extra. So

United can do whatever they want, but their biggest enemy is themselves. The four most recent forwards were a free player (Edinson Cavani), two loan players (Odion Ighalo and Wout Weghorst) and Ronaldo. We made enough compromises.

They also agreed to pay Marouane Fellaini £27.5m, even though his contract had a £23m release clause which expired a month ago. did not agree. That was 10 years ago now.

They did sign someone in June 2013, though: Guillermo Varela.