Manchester United may have tied up the majority of their transfer business this Deadline Day, but there still seemingly remains one deal they are set to make…
What else could Manchester United do on Deadline Day?
With Sofyan Amrabat the starring capture for Erik ten Hag today, he will be delighted to welcome ample midfield cover alongside a backup goalkeeper and left-back in Altay Bayindir and Sergio Reguilon.
However, they have done business elsewhere too, extending Jonny Evans' short-term stay by turning his deal into a one-year one.
The Red Devils confirmed the news on social media.
Read the latest Man United transfer news HERE…
This deal comes after the northern Irishman saw his stay at Leicester City come to an end, who allowed his £100k-per-week deal to expire as they fell into the Championship.
How good is Jonny Evans?
Such a swoop marks a wholly uninspiring acquisition, given his age and unlikelihood to play. It makes little to no sense for the Red Devils to bring him in, even if Raphael Varane has been known to suffer from injury woes.
The chances are, even in the toughest injury crisis, Harry Maguire would always be preferred over Evans given his time spent at the club and the money they paid for him, even if it was something fans continue to ridicule.
This could make the swoop somewhat of a blunder, and even if no fee is involved, it's a move that has hallmarks of their 2019 swoop for Maguire. Even if they did break the world record for a defender when he made his £80m move, at least the England star has featured.
Hampered by the weight of such an enormous price tag, the 30-year-old could never truly have lived up to the level that such a figure imposed upon him. However, he somehow managed to lower expectations with each passing year as his poor displays continued, exacerbating the initial cost.
Darren Bent, speaking on talkSPORT, went as far as to suggest he was one of the worst-ever Premier League signings: "I'm probably being a bit harsh here, when I spoke about him being probably, value for money the worst signing in Premier League history."
With 175 appearances for the club under his belt, the former Sheffield United dud has failed to announce himself as someone worthy of his fee, with his lack of speed an alarming characteristic that has let him down on occasion. Richard Dunne even branded him "painfully slow" nearly a year ago, which is a trait that Evans unfortuantely shares.
Indeed, as far back in 2013 before the defender started dwindling in age, journalist Chris McKenna wrote: "Jonny Evans looked so slow there."
Building on this, during the 2021/22 season it was revealed that Maguire supposedly made as many as 16 mistakes leading to goals in one campaign, as if to emphasise his confidence crisis that has persisted throughout his time at Old Trafford.
Should Evans instead play, which seems unlikely anyway, he would almost definitely suffer from the same kind of issues that Maguire has done throughout his career. Pundit Mark Goldbridge outlined his qualms with the initial short-term deal, noting: "I can't see why we would keep Jonny Evans."
He continued: "I watched him a few times last season and he is washed. There's no way you play Jonny Evans in Premier League games against most of the Premier League now, he's done. If Manchester United and Erik ten Hag are going to keep Jonny Evans and not buy a centre-back, that terrifies me."
This comes with the 35-year-old having played a tiny role for Leicester last season as they were relegated, with his talents worryingly not good enough for that level. He is far from the star that writer Henry Winter once lauded as a "leader" almost four years ago.
It seems that Goldbridge's fears are now set to be realised, with the continued frugality of the Glazers leaving their Dutch manager short-changed once again in a vital position.
