Manchester United formally announced the acquisitions of midfielder Christian Eriksen and defender Lisandro Martinez well over a week ago. We still haven’t seen any photos of either player in training with United, or wearing a United shirt. The only photos you’ll find of Eriksen and Martinez in a United uniform are on social media, and created via PhotoShop (or a similar app).
Considering how the club announced the Eriksen arrival on July 15, and Martinez on July 16, and here we are on July 25, this situation is extremely frustrating and confusing to the club’s fans. These feelings are being expressed all over the place on social media.
Manchester United silenced their fans with the Eriksen and Martinez announcements, high energy level training session videos and good performance during preseason games.
No movement in the transfer window since then. We are in for a long and tough season.?
— Masheta ten Hag (@mashetabaker) July 25, 2022
Martinez, an Argentinian international, moved over from Ajax on an official fee of £55m (€57m including solidarity payments) plus €10m add-ons. Eriksen signed as a free agent after having spent the previous season at Brentford. Reports of his move to United were prevalent well over a week before United made their formal acquisition announcement.
Here are some of the more colorful and interesting Tweets on United fan Twitter, expressing this sentiment.
@ManUtd we better see pictures of Eriksen and Martinez today or else
— Pizzelle? (@miky_pizzelle) July 25, 2022
And this one:
We announced Eriksen and Martinez 10 days ago but are yet to see a single picture of them in the United kit. pic.twitter.com/O54o2Cxsf1
— ? (@TheFergusonWay) July 25, 2022
Here’s another funny one:
Don’t get why Manchester United take so long to do everything.
We announced Eriksen and Martinez 10 days ago and heard nothing since.
— Paul, Manc Bald and Bred (@MufcWonItAll) July 25, 2022
It’s frustrating to say the least
So another day without revealing Eriksen and Martinez in their United shirt?
— Saif Ali Khan (@SaifSafeKhan) July 25, 2022
And now you have to look ahead, as the season approaches and there is still a lot of transfer business to be done. What about the Frenkie de Jong mess?
These next two weeks, we need to see Eriksen and Martinez in training, sell/loan 2-3 players, decide on a RB and attacker, and sort the Frenkie de Jong situation. It’s almost the start of the season now. #MUFC
— Andrew O’Brien (@aobrien7) July 25, 2022
Maybe this is the reason for the delay on the Martinez and Eriksen holding their new red shirts and holding a pen over contracts photos? Perhaps it’s all part of a major master plan, with this as the result?
Imagine if United announce De Jong, Eriksen and Martinez like this it would be crazyy? pic.twitter.com/J8vurb1kS7
— Leo (@utdleo_) July 14, 2022
Still seems like a long shot that they got De Jong though.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.