Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recognised the need to reshape the narrative as soon as possible. Manchester United had only just suffered a damaging Europa League semi final defeat to Sevilla, but the Norwegian saw it as an opportunity to make his stance clear for the summer transfer window ahead.
“We need to strengthen the squad depth of course because it's going to be a long season and only a couple weeks' rest until we get going again,” Solskjaer replied when asked whether any new signings would be coming through the door before the start of the 2020/21 campaign.
“It's a strange one. The league starts very quickly but the market's open for so long. We've got to be good, smart and clever.”
Indeed, they do. Manchester United find themselves at a critical juncture in their recent history, with Solskjaer giving the club their best platform for success since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. But their development as a team must continue and new additions will likely be necessary for that to happen.
United’s public pursuit of Jadon Sancho has excited fans, and with good reason. The 20-year-old (below), who scored 17 goals and notched 16 assists in 32 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia Dortmund last season, would fill a problem area on the right side of Solskjaer’s attack, adding to the potency United already boast.
For all that Mason Greenwood has provided goal threats since lockdown, he is not a creator. The teenager averaged just 0.5 key passes per Premier League appearance last season compared to Sancho’s far higher average of 2.2 key passes per Bundesliga appearance last season.
Sancho also tends to be much more involved in the general play of his team than Greenwood, making 47.1 passes per league game last season compared to just 16 of the latter. Sancho would undoubtedly make United’s attacking game more rounded.
Holding midfielder required
The need for a new midfield anchor to succeed Nemanja Matic could be more pressing, though.
The Serbian is in the United team to protect the back four, averaging 2.2 tackles per league appearance this season, and recycle possession, averaging 60.2 passes per league game. This puts him behind only Harry Maguire (66.3) and Paul Pogba (64.6) among his United teammates for passes last season.
Matic is vulnerable to a high press from the opposition, though, as Southampton exposed in their 2-2 draw at Old Trafford last month.
Manchester United need someone who can move the ball on quicker and cover more ground in less time. This could make someone like Borussia Monchengladbach’s Denis Zakaria attractive, with the Swiss midfielder similar in profile to Matic - averaging 2.1 tackles in the Bundesliga last season. Zakaria only averaged 38.3 passes, but that is perhaps to be expected given the style of Gladbach’s play.
Case for the defence: No Shaw thing on the left, partner for Maguire?
At left back, Luke Shaw has enjoyed a career renaissance this season, but while the 25-year-old is defensively adept he doesn’t offer enough going forward.
Indeed, Shaw notched just one assist all season for United. Compare this to the 25 league assists Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson registered for Liverpool as full backs and Shaw’s glaring deficiency becomes clear.
Sergio Reguilon would give Solskjaer an effective outlet down the left wing, with the Norwegian given a first hand demonstration of this as the 23-year-old laid on the assist for Sevilla’s equaliser on Sunday night.
Pervis Estupinan could also be a shrewd addition, with the Ecuadorian contributing five La Liga assists for Osasuna on loan from Watford last season.
If their Europa League semi-final defeat makes one thing clear, though, it was that United need to find a new centre back partner for Harry Maguire.
While Maguire has impressed since his move from Leicester City last summer, his lack of pace has seen him encounter trouble more than once as a United player, with Victor Lindelof’s positional awareness and lack of aggression not enough to mask this.
Koulidou Koulibaly has been mentioned as a potential target, but with Napoli demanding a fee of around €80 million for the centre it’s highly likely United would have to drop their pursuit of Sancho to sign the Senegalese international.
Koulibaly, who is also interesting Man City, would bring the sort of presence to make Solskjaer’s side formidable at the back, but he is right footed and so Maguire still wouldn’t be able to move into his favoured position on the right side of the centre back pairing.
Nathan Ake was mentioned as a potential left-footed target before signing for their city rivals and so Hertha Berlin’s Jordan Torunarigha is a player who could give United what they need. The 23-year-old is left footed, speedy and was Hertha’s third most prolific passer (44.2 passes per league game) last season.
A potential solution closer to home
Then there’s Chris Smalling, the forgotten man at Old Trafford who enjoyed an exceptional 2019/20 campaign on loan at Roma.
Smalling averaged more interceptions (1.9 per match) and the same number of tackles (0.8 per match) than Lindelof last season, also playing more long balls (2.4 per game) as the Englishman played a key role in sparking quick Roma attacks.
There’s an argument to be made that Smalling would be a better partner for Maguire than Lindelof right now.
United dug themselves such a deep hole that it was always going to take a lot of work for them to even get back on a level footing again.
But, if Solskjaer is to turn the Old Trafford outfit into Premier League title challengers again, the process must continue.
Before making any transfer moves, there must be an understanding of what is actually required first.
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