The incoming singing of Rabiot mirrors United's transfer problems that never seem to go away...

Manchester United announced earlier today they had agreed a deal with Juventus for the transfer of French midfielder Adrien Rabiot. The deal has seemingly come out of nowhere and echoes of painful transfer dealings have never been more nostalgic. The Frenkie De Jong saga has been nothing short of a wild goose chase around Spain attempting to sign a player who isn't even dead set on joining the club. Weren't United meant to be in a transitional phase signing players that suited Ten Hag's style of play? As well as not signing players who weren't 100% set on wanting to be part of the club? There has been a common link between ETH and the 3 signings so far (Malacia, Eriksen and Martinez), but Rabiot seems impulsive and out of the blue. It's almost as if the board haven't had all summer to negotiate with De Jong or approach other players, like Ruben Neves and Ibrahim Sangare. Yet United are going back to their old roots of signing players who don't quite fit the bill. Rabiot has been far from his best at Juventus, what's made the club want to sign him? Is it the convenient negotiations? Or has a serious lack competency once again outed United for being such a poorly run club? It seems wrong to be so pessimistic after some encouraging signs in pre-season, but a horrendous home defeat to Brighton yesterday has already create a worrying feeling that this season might just the be another one of those torrid campaigns. To add fuel to the fire, will Rabiot even be the answer to the midfield problems? The pivot of McTominay and Fred has once again come under fire, but Rabiot is hardly the answer for a defensive midfielder. With Van de Beek, Eriksen and Fernandes already in the squad, is the Frencman's addition even worth it if he isn't going to solve some defensive problems? Squad depth is currently an ongoing problem, with Ronaldo still a sticky situation, Martial injured again, that leaves United with Garnacho, Sancho, Rashford and Elanga as forward options. Another midfielder who isn't what they need will provide little to nothing in terms of improving and benefitting the squad. At the same time, Marko Arnautovic seems brainless and again, out of the blue. He was hardly a pressing forward at West Ham and Stoke, where's the logic? One game into the season and it already looks troubling for United, a lack of organisation and common sense to support the new manager puts everyone on the back foot already. If they can get their act together before the transfer window ends, then there could be a silver lining, but whether something gets done is a completely different question.