Column: Russo and Batlle depart Manchester United. What next?
Manchester United have seen two key players walk away. There's been briefs and counter briefs about finances, offers and more, but what do the sagas say about all parties and what do United do next?
So, Alessia Russo and Ona Batlle are leaving Manchester United, and in Russo's case brings to an end a rare on-running transfer saga in the women's game within England which has lasted since January.
Her destination is likely to be Arsenal, the club which lit the fire with a record-breaking bid on deadline day in January, but the whole situation has cast an interesting light on various aspects of the women's game and its growth on and off the pitch.
Batlle's move back home to Barcelona also became a little bit 'will she, won't she?' But her move has come with less drama given there was always an expectation on all sides Batlle would return to her home city and the club she grew up at, particularly given their standing as the best side in Europe too, despite various stories about financial offers and when they arrived.
Russo meanwhile has become one of the faces of English football since her role in the Lionesses winning Euro 2022 last summer. Like so many, her on and off pitch value has sky-rocketed after being propelled into the wider public conscious.
While already a familiar name to people within the women's football bubble, like so many others Russo was a relative unknown to casual observers, compared to the bigger names such as Lucy Bronze, Ellen White, Jill Scott etc heading into last summer.
But whether it was her cameo against Northern Ireland, her tournament-saving assist against Spain or her brilliant back-heel against Sweden, Russo went from strength to strength, game after game and went into the new domestic season as one of the new shining lights of the sport to a now wider audience.
One thing Manchester United fans have queried since the announcement is why has Russo's transfer garnered more attention from the media, given they would argue Batlle has been their best player over the past 12 months.
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It's a fair point, but there needs to be an understanding there are currently two audiences where women's football is concerned. Those hardcore followers of the sport who read what myself and the many other women’s football writers write, and the casual observers who pick up a newspaper every day with little or no interest in the women's game, and may only know a few established names.
But, because we are in England and the Euros were in England and Russo is English, there's a chance they may know her, whereas next to no chance they know Batlle.
That's not being unfair, it's just the wider media landscape. There's no denying among women's football writers and supporters of Batlle's brilliance. I voted her my player of the year, but to a wider audience where 'news' is concerned, Russo is a bigger fish inside these four shores.
In Spain, Spanish players will gain more interest. In France, French players will gain more interest and so on, so on. I'll wager Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmatà and Patri Guijarro have more written about them in Spain if they were leaving Barcelona than Keira Walsh or Lucy Bronze, as an example.
But what made this saga so interesting is how it did play out. Briefs and counter briefs for a player who scored 10 league goals last season and may become one of the best paid players in the league. That's not being harsh on Russo who is a great talent, but playing wise hasn't yet reached the heights of a world class player, along the figures being mooted.
Arsenal's bid of around £450,000 in January just eclipsed the money paid by Barcelona for Walsh last summer, who was the first to make a big move post-Euro 2022, but her saga didn't last this long, while Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway both moved abroad pre-Euros hysteria, and their moves came much more out of the blue than Russo's, which has been a story ever since Arsenal's interest became public in January.
Russo's game is more than goals, she's a very good all-round forward with time to develop further. Her skillset to run in behind and hold the ball up is what Jonas Eidevall wants in a forward line which already encompasses plenty of talent, while United relied on her almost solely as a number nine, which is never really what she's been pinned down to.
I became aware of Russo when she was at Chelsea as a 16-year-old when I went to watch a training camp for the England under 17s before they flew off to the U17 World Cup in 2016. Russo was in a group with Stanway, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly, Ella Toone and others, but her power as a 16-year-old and how hard she could hit a ball stood out.
When she moved to the USA to study at the University of the North Carolina, her highlights reel wasn't a bunch of tap-ins, but 30-yard bangers playing either off the striker or cutting in from the wing, because her power was her speciality.
That's why last season despite some of her goals being crucial, she lacked the number nine prowess which saw Rachel Daly more than double her tally and Beth England score four more despite her season only really getting going in January. That's not to be unfair on Russo, but also a reality of what her all-round game is about, but goals usually command the big money rather than some of the qualities Russo holds within her armoury.
The second aspect is how it played out in the media. Man United have lost a big name player, a regular starter and, like it or not, a huge player commercially. That means some face saving is needed, and the club have been keen to stress they matched Arsenal's financial offerings more than once made an offer Russo wanted. They have also stressed their offer to Batlle also matched the demands of Barcelona, and finances weren't a role in their departures.
I reported some weeks ago they had made an offer of a four-year deal to Russo, whereas on the flip side after those stories started to leak, Russo’s camp tried to turn the tables - as they would, understandably - not denying United did indeed match demands, but they were slow in making what was viewed as an acceptable offer and that didn't come until May, while United stress they made what they view as an acceptable offer in February immediately after the January window shut.
There has also been suggestions their offer to Batlle, which matched the three years offered by Barcelona, also came too late, but again with the expectation Batlle was always likely to depart no matter what.
As someone on social media said on Friday, "There are two sides to every story...then there's the truth." The likelihood is both sides are probably true in some respect, but both sides are stretching their version to the extreme to save face and make the other party look bad, because that's PR.
When I first heard United had matched Arsenal's and Barcelona's offers, I was sceptical given United haven't been blowing teams out of the water financially as they only arrived in the WSL four years ago and last summer most of their signings were free transfers.
Over 10 years in the job, you build up a trust with sources, but there was still scepticism until I read Tim Stillman's article stating the same, and knowing Tim would have Arsenal's version of events who had little to gain from that information being public, it became a more plausible possibility.
The reality is United probably did match offers and they were also probably slow in their negotiations. Both can be true. There was no formal confirmation United would announce Russo's departure at 10am on Monday, yet every women's football writer was prepped and ready with pre-written stories because of briefs from all sides, largely Russo's agent, who was keen to get their side of the story out after details had broken stating United had done what they could to keep Russo.
The big question fans will ask is why have United lost two key players for free? Personally, I don't think it's about finances. It seems likely United did match Arsenal's offers for Russo, and it's believed they did the same with Batlle, albeit always less optimistic about keeping the Spaniard after the top team in Europe came calling, a team which also happens to be her home and the club she grew up at.
They also rejected without hesitation the mega money thrown at them in January, when it would have been easy to say yes to almost half a million pounds for a player who could walk for free in a few months. They are also showing more ambition in the window, with links to Kerolin proving they are keen to pursue players who are under contract, would command a hefty fee and a solid wage packet. The Brazilian is also under contract for another 18 months.
United would accept themselves there is work to be done behind the scenes. The nature of the club being five years old means there is still a structure being built behind the coaching staff. Other clubs are ahead in that regard because simply they have been around longer, while United's first major acquisition wasn't until earlier this year when Polly Bancroft arrived from Brighton & Hove Albion.
Bancroft is the club's Head of Women's Football, while deputy Director of Football Andy O'Boyle oversees most of the women's team matters, but also has responsibilities on the men's side. United have also brought Harvey Bussell over from the men's academy side to be their Head of Recruitment. Bussell previously worked as Head of Recruitment at Millwall in the EFL, but United are still playing catch up and while that structure is still being built there remains frustration at things taking potentially longer than they should, from both United's own side and the side of agents and players they deal with.
Contact was first made with Russo's representatives 18 months ago, yet negotiations have continued to drag on until now and has ended with United losing their striker.
On the pitch, United had a good season. Marc Skinner, Martin Ho, Charlotte Healy and co guided them to second place and in the end a comfortable nine-point margin over both Arsenal and Manchester City, as well as a first major cup final.
Their target last summer was one they were open about, to add more depth, which they did, albeit it was often under-utilised. Skinner admitted at the end of the season he would rotate more next season, but also defended his decisions to not rotate his starting eleven more given the results United were picking up, losing only twice across the whole season and vastly improved performances and results against both Arsenal and local rivals City.
The aim this summer is to improve the first team and continue to bring the quality of the squad up to scratch, in order to continue competing with those around them and get into the Champions League group stage, which will be no mean feat as an unseeded team.
The likes of Kerolin are the players United have to get, but if they don't it still shows a determination to shop in the upper end of the market, something Skinner has consistently publicly said the club needs to do. The manager appears to have a belief the club will follow through on his wishes and their list of targets for this summer is already well under way in terms of trying to recruit them, but they need to shift the reputation they have as slow operators.
Some players will wonder when their time will come, with some already being linked with moves away, but the likes of Aissatou Tounkara and co were always bought as squad depth, and as a centre-back it's a position less likely to be rotated than say Lucia Garcia, who more often than not would come off the bench in an attacking role.
Garcia is expected to be one of those getting more regular game time, with Skinner content to stick with the players he'd spent a year working with and understood his and Ho's methods and philosophy, rather than to try and implement it immediately onto a bunch of new players, bar Maya Le Tissier who was always planned to be an immediate starter.
Jayde Riviere is in place as a ready-made replacement for Batlle, while United were already targeting a forward to offer competition for Russo and will now likely pursue two forwards to replace the Arsenal-bound striker.
United generally do their business quietly and spring their announcements one by one in July, and with the stakes higher than ever they have plenty of questions to answer, but they seem confident they have those answers.
Maybe not Kerolin, but Geyse is a good start.......we still need more though, even with Watson, Rabjohn, and Evans.
Russo leaving for a well-structured Arsenal team, who regardless didn't do better than we did is not a good decision for me though.