With only a few weeks left in the transfer window it would seem that Sir Alex has finished his summer spending, but has he gone far enough? There are no doubts that he has brought some very talented youngsters to the club, in his record breaking summer of spending. Fergie was given the biggest transfer chest of his 25 years at the club, £100million, to create his final, great side. Over the summer he has brought in Ashley Young-£16m-Phil Jones-£16.5m-and David de Gea-£18.3m-who are all bright young prospects, but they aren’t the finished articles, so will these signings alone be enough to replace what they have lost and propel them to a 20th league title?
It would seem as if United are still lacking a replacement for the retired Paul Scholes. Wesley Sneijder has been rumoured, but time is ticking on the transfer window, and it remains to be seen whether that will go ahead. Perhaps Sir Alex has a cheeky last minute deal up his sleeves that will surprise us all. The young players they have signed are undoubtedly quality, but surely they need more top quality players of the likes of Sneijder, to stay ahead in the league and narrow the gap between them and Europe’s finest. Bringing big names to the club is not without risk though, there is always the possibility of an expensive flop-i.e. Juan Sebastian Veron-which is why it proves to be cautious in the market, however they do need a world class signing to take them that step further in Europe.
If they don’t get anyone in to replace Scholes, then what options do they have? They could move Ryan Giggs into the centre, or even Wayne Rooney, although that could be a waste of his talents in front of goal. Perhaps they will bring in one of the youngsters at the club like Tom Cleverley. Scholes is a huge player to lose, his retirement marks the end of an era, so replacing him will be a difficult challenge. Perhaps Fergie is testing the water with his current squad. Should they struggle in midfield in the early part of the season, he might then look to strengthen in January, maybe with a bid for Arsenal’s Samir Nasri, whose contract will be expiring next summer which could affect his price-tag.
Man City and Liverpool have spent big over the summer and are likely to provide tough threats to United’s crown along with Arsenal and Chelsea. It seems like the players United have signed are built for the future and will come into their own over the next few years, along with the wealth of talent in their reserve and youth team’s. This side will be at its peak in the next few seasons, but United still should have enough quality to put up a strong defence of their crown next season.
As well as trying to stay ahead on the domestic front, Sir Alex will be determined to meet the challenge set by Barcelona, after the demolishing that they suffered in the Champions League Final at Wembley. The gap between the sides was huge and no clearer in evidence than in the centre of the park, United seem to need a player of massive ability to close the gap between the sides. However, it is difficult to see how any team can compete with a side that has been such a long time in the making, with its foundations running back to 1992. Barcelona themselves, have spent big, making additions-notably Alexis Sanchez who it was rumored United where interested in-to continue to improve their squad. They are undoubtedly the best team Fergie has faced in his 25 years at United, and he will want to bow out having given absolutely everything in the challenge to take them down. Of course it would be naive to focus solely on Barcelona, they need to concentrate on winning week in and week out, and not be obsessed by the challenge and the benchmark that Barca have set in Europe.
One things for certain, Fergie will not rest until United are at the pinnacle of world football once more. He has spent big on the creation of his last great side, but is it enough to stay ahead of their domestic rivals or to reach the bar set by Barcelona?
Written by Lauren Rutter for FootballFancast.com. Let me know your thoughts below or follow me on Twitter @LaurenRutter
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I would like to see a DM so players like anderson can have more freedom to go forward