Man United were a mess last season.
They had a brief resurgence when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over but that honeymoon period ended just after he was given the job on a permanent basis, and United subsequently failed to win any of their last five league games.
Solskjaer warned his squad in May that up to half of them could face the chop after the wretched season – but that just didn’t happen over the summer.
Incomings
Daniel James (£18m)
The Swansea winger is a speed machine and he’s impressed in pre-season, but the left of attack isn’t the big problem area at Old Trafford – United already have Anthony Martial, Alexis Sanchez and Tahith Chong there. James is a good player but United didn’t need him.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£50m) and Harry Maguire (£85m)
Defence was the problem area last season when United conceded more goals than any other team in the top nine and almost ten more than Wolves and Everton. A new right-back and centre-back were priorities. However, while Solskjaer has added two of the best English players in these positions, it’s hard to say they didn’t overpay for Maguire. They ended up paying what Leicester had been demanding all summer. So, in the end, they got their man but too late for him to play any meaningful part in pre-season. They should have paid the money and spent the time integrating him into the squad.
Outgoings
Probably the most pertinent thing to say here is who didn’t go that should have done? What happened to the cull? Why are Matteo Darmian, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Eric Bailly still with the club?
Romelu Lukaku – Inter Milan
The big sale of the summer was Lukaku who fetched £75m from Inter Milan, but he wasn’t replaced and that could prove a huge mistake. Marcus Rashford is the number one striker and deserves his chance but Solskjaer will be relying on a player who has never scored more than 10 in a Premier League season. Surely the money should have been used to bring in a 20+ goal striker? As it is the United net spend is less than £80m and there are big holes going into the new season (see below).
Ander Herrera – released
Antonio Valencia – released
Big holes
The really big issue for Man United as we see it is the midfield. They haven’t added anyone and have lost Herrera and Marouane Fellaini earlier in the year. Paul Pogba could be good or he could be bad, depending on his mood, and that’s a massive worry for your main midfield man. Scott McTominay is still raw, Nemanja Matic is another year older and Fred doesn’t inspire confidence after last season. Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata show how bloated the midfield is without any real standouts.
Man United have plenty of youngsters in the wings but it’s going to be tough to expect too much from them in the current set-up. Fantasy Premier League players might be getting excited about Mason Greenwood but that’s mainly because of his price in the game, not because anyone thinks he’s going to take the Premier League by storm.
United fans aren’t happy and you can see why. Solskjaer will take the blame if it goes wrong on the pitch but we’d point the finger at Ed Woodward instead. He desperately needs to find a new director of football because, in that role, he’s sorely lacking.
TiF Rating: 5/10