Thomas Hein
It almost feels as though every summer is a huge one when it comes to Manchester United at present. Fans would have been forgiven for thinking that the long-awaited trophy success that they crave would have come to an end in 2021-22 as the club forked out for Jadon Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane.
However, like studying NFL stats, the stats would indicate that the business done was sufficient enough. Now the club will go into the summer of 2022 with a massive challenge on their hands, and once again, that revolves around getting the club back to the very top of the Premier League standings.
Avoid Offering New Deals Unless Merited
United have so often fallen down the hole of offering players bigger contracts just to avoid losing their stars on a free transfer in the summer. The club has been paying for those mistakes for a number of years now, as the deadwood in the squad has just built up progressively.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did an excellent job at getting rid of the players that had no future at the club, and refined the squad, which ensured only players on the books would get a chance to fight for their place.
United must not be scared of losing players on a free this summer if there is no genuine intention to use them in the first-team going forward. Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard are two that the club should allow to leave, while Edinson Cavani should be offered a new deal should he wish to remain at the club for one more year.
Paul Pogba’s status is the most divisive among United fans, with many believing that the transfer to bring the Frenchman back to Old Trafford has been a disaster and now would be the perfect time to cut their losses and move on. If that is the stance of the board, then United shouldn’t buckle and offer the midfielder even more money to stay.
Bring In Quality Over Quantity
The last couple of windows have for the most part been good ones for Manchester United, with the club identifying a problem position and bringing in one player to fill that void.
Regardless of the targets on the table this summer, that should be the same once again. In all probability, United will be looking for at least one central midfielder and a center-forward in the summer, which means paying the price for one star that makes the team better rather than a number of players that will sit on the fringes of the first team.
The futures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Cavani will be pivotal to the business that the club do at the top-end of the field, but midfielders rank very high on the list of players that United needs to bring in. The midfield pairing of Fred and Scott McTominay looks to have a sell-by date, and that is this summer.
Targets that have been muted to replace either, or both of the stars in the first eleven include Ruben Neves, Denis Zakaria and Declan Rice. The latter of those will likely be the most expensive, but ticks all the boxes that United will be looking to fill to take them forward.
Overpaying On Targets
Every soccer fan in the country is aware that there is a tax that comes with being United, which often means that the club has to overpay in order to get one of its targets over the line. Like every summer, that will be the case once again. But, United shouldn’t be held to ransom to bring in one of their targets.
Recruitment would have been looking at potential targets throughout the season, and lists will likely be drawn up of two or three players that could perfectly fit into the team that the club is trying to create. The Red Devils shouldn’t be scared to move onto another target should the asking price for main targets be way over the top.
United also shouldn’t look past some of the emerging talents that are coming through the academy, such as Anthony Elanga, and James Garner; who is enjoying an excellent season on loan at Nottingham Forest this term.
