Manchester United transfer questions answered

Here are the answers to some of this week's questions:

Why are United buying cheap players rather than spending big on good players like what others are doing (Tottenham and Arsenal)?

Since taking control of football operations, Sir Jim Ratcliffe's team have been keen to move away from the days of blockbuster transfers. That's not to say United will never spend over £100million on a player, but their record signing (Paul Pogba for £89million in 2016) could go untroubled for a few more seasons.

United were never likely to spend so much on one player this summer, with a complete overhaul of the midfield required and numerous other areas of the squad needing to be addressed - and we're still waiting for the latter to happen. History tells us United tend to go big in the summer transfer window when they haven't qualified for the Champions League in a bid to get back into the competition, and with a top-three place secured last season, this summer was always more likely to see a leaner spend than the £225m of last summer.

When are United signing a left back?

How very to the point.

It's a good question, and one most United fans are asking. United should have gone all out for Lewis Hall. Whether the Newcastle left-back would have been open to a move is unclear, but there was a real lack of ambition shown by United to not properly test the waters at least.

United do want to sign a left-back, but the price will have to be right. The arrival of Carlos Baleba this week was a timely reminder that the decision-makers at the club aren't afraid to walk away from a deal if they don't think it represents value for money, as they did with Baleba last summer.

Mainoo is our midfield man. Why not play him regularly? He's a fantastic player. Don't even know why we had to buy Baleba who's not as good!

Will Mainoo still be relevant and getting a fair share of his minutes with Baleba around?

I've grouped these two questions together as they both seem to make a similar point, albeit one I don't agree with. Mainoo and Baleba are two very different players, and there is no reason to think a midfield pairing of Mainoo and Baleba won't be seen this season.

On the question of why Mainoo isn't playing regularly, he only returned to pre-season training under three weeks ago and so was never really in contention to start the opening day defeat to Hull. He came on midway through the second half half at the MKM Stadium and so is in contention to start on Sunday. Mainoo is the present and future of United's midfield, so we'll be seeing plenty of him.

We’re in danger of undoing all the good work if we don’t get a left back as cover for Luke Shaw because Harry Amass is nowhere near the level we need. Plus, I’d go for Mateta at Palace as the perfect experienced backup for Sesko - what do you think?

I wouldn't go as far as to say all the work this summer will be undone if United don't sign a left-back, but they really do need to bring one in before the window closes. The lack of urgency is alarming, especially given Luke Shaw's injury record - granted he stayed fit all last season, but this season's congested fixture schedule makes a new left-back a must.

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