Manchester United had arguably their worst season ever, finishing 8th in the Premier League and winning the FA cup. While that might sound alright, their underlying numbers were horrendous. United were 15th on expected points, and 18th in shots conceded, battling relegated teams in that stat. There were some major problems in their style of play which many teams exploited. Some of the worst results were a 3-0 loss to Bournemouth, 4-0 loss to Crystal Palace, and a 3-0 and 3-1 double defeat against their bitter rivals Manchester City. The single biggest problem was in their rest defence. Ten hag’s defensive organization was extremely poor, instructing his front line to press high while encouraging his backline to stay deep. That meant that as soon as the press was bypassed, teams had acres of space to run at the United backline. Situations like these happened nearly every 5 minutes in some games, and this led to them conceding so many shots and goals. The system inherently is massively flawed, and is not helped by the fact that Casemiro, who has an even bigger role in this system, had a massive physical decline, and couldn’t cover ground as he used to before. The overall decline in the performance of Raphael Varane as well has further increased their defensive issues. The defence isn’t the only problem though. In attack, a lack of creativity from the right hand side has meant that most of the creative burden has been taken up by Bruno Fernandes. Hojlund has also had a relatively mediocre start to his United career, but I do believe that he has the potential to be a 20-30 goals per season striker, so United should back him. One problem though is that there is no backup for Hojlund, so United would want to ideally sign a backup who can do something similiar to what Hojlund does while also offering something unique, which can be used as a weapon against certain teams. Overall, I feel that United need to urgently sign a creative right winger, a proper ball winning CDM who can also function as a deep lying playmaker, two center backs, one being more of an aggressive stopper, who can provide that agression in the absence of Martinez, and one being a calm sweeper, who can fill the Varane void, and a backup/competition to Hojlund.
Transfers for the CDM role
1.Exequiel Palacios
Exequiel Palacios has had a breakout season at Bayer Leverkusen. He has been a key part of their success in the 23/24 season, standing out as an excellent ball winner and a deep lying playmaker. In possession, Palacios stands out in terms of his assists, expected assists, Progressive Passes, Key passes, Passes into the final third, Passes into the Penalty area, Progressive carries, carries, successful take ons and successful take on %. He is extremely press resistant and has an expansive passing range. This season he has primarily played as a ball winner next to Granit Xhaka, who has been the main deep lying playmaker in the team, but Palacios has proven to be more than good enough to replace his creative ability at Leverkusen. What also stands out is his ability off the ball. He is incredible at defending transitions, and he stands out in tackles, interceptions, duels won, dribblers tackled, and ball recoveries. He is very press resistant and has an excellent ability to wiggle out of tight situations, and also has an element of ‘Pausa’ in his game, with an ability to dictate the tempo of the game. He is just 25, valued at 40m, and is currently a fantastic pick while also offering huge potential.
- Boubakar Kamara
Kamara is a prem-proven CDM who excels at defending transitions and also offers a unique blend of press resistance and aggression to this United team. Defensively, he been solid for Aston Villa and a crucial part of their squad which finished 4th in the Premier League. While he is not the most creative player in the team, he can dictate the tempo of the game and provide a solid presence to the rest defence. He stands out in his passes attempted, passes completed, pass completion rate, through balls, passes into the final third and switches. Defensively, he stands out in terms of his interceptions, blocks, aerials won, and shots blocked. All while playing for a team who tend to dominate the ball. Kamara would be a fantastic signing to boost the United midfield.
Transfers for the aggressive CB role
1.Goncalo Inacio
Goncalo Inacio plays as a left sided center back in a back 3, and has really blossomed into that role under Ruben Amorim. He stands out when it comes to Progressive passes, progressive carries, succesful take-ons, expected assists, passes into the final third, passes into the penalty area, shot creating actions and goal creating actions. All these paint a picture of a center back who’s very good on the ball and can create chances for the team from deeper areas. He has a very aggressive defensive technique and it shows in the statistics. He stands out in areas such as tackles, dribblers challenged, and recoveries, all while playing in a posession based team. He has also adapted well to a back 4 system for the Portugese national team, showing that he can be a crucial part of United’s long term plans. He is valued at 45m, and could be a fantastic signing.
2.Antonio Silva
Antonio Silva is one of the best young center back prospects in the world. He has a very aggressive ball winning technique, while also being very silky and nimble on the ball. He stands out when it comes to progressive passes, passes into the final third, passes into the penalty area, progressive carries, carries into the final third and succesful take ons. Defensively, he is an absolute workhorse and stands out when it comes to tackles, dribblers challenged, percentage of dribblers tackled and ball recoveries. He is valued at 40m, and could be an excellent long term signing for United.
Transfers for RW
1.Federico Chiesa
Chiesa is one of the best two footed wingers out there, with an ability to play well on both flanks, as well as playing as a 9. He is an excellent dribbler, and while he has lost some of his pace due to an ACL tear sustained a couple of years ago, he is still an excellent goal creater and difference maker, especially standing out when it comes to expected assists, key passes, succesful take ons, shot creating actions and goal creating actions. He is someone who has the ability to come off the bench and change games or be a menace for 90 minutes, while also offering a different skillset, in the form of a more creative threat rather than a goal scoring threat like Garnacho, which may be useful against certain opponents. Juventus have already transfer listed him for just 15m, and it seems like an absolute steal of a deal, despite Chiesa being rather injury prone.
2.Matìas Soulé
Matìas Soulé is a phenomenal young talent, who perfectly fits into United’s system. He stands out when it comes to shot creating actions, succesful take ons, progressive passes, passes into the penalty area, passes into the final third and carries into the final third. While he is not a huge goal-scoring threat, he consistently offers a creative threat, regularly takes on his man and can create chances out of nowhere. He is just 21, valued at 25m, and is an excellent signing for United’s long term plans.
Transfers for the sweeper CB
1.Ousmane Diomande
Ousmane Diomande is a young center back who plays for Sporting CP. Diomande’s style of defending is very akin to that of a Varane or a Van Dijk, in that he’s quite calm and composed, but can hold his own in any 1v1 situation, as well as being an absolute monster in the air. He stands out when it comes to Percentage of dribblers tackled, Duels won, Dribbled past, aeriels won and percentage of aerials won. He’s very quick, and can keep up pace with just about any attacker. He offers a very different style of defending to Marintez, who tends to be more aggressive and tries to win the ball back a bit higher up the pitch. On the ball, while Diomande isn’t someone who can create chances from Center back, he is very safe and nimble on the ball, having an ability to wriggle out of the tightest situations and carry the ball forward. He participates a lot in the build up, and United is not a team which currently relies on their center backs to create a lot of chances, so Diomande can definitely fit in quite well at United. He is valued at 40m, but would be an excellent buy in my opinion.
2.Leny Yoro
Leny Yoro is a center back who United have been linked to a lot, and rightly so. He has a sense of calm in his game, and that reflect in his defensive technique as well as his numbers on the ball. While he doesn’t make a lot of tackles, he is a very smart player who reads the game and makes sure that he doesn’t need to commit a risky challenge to get out of a tough situation. he’s a very modern center back, and it also reflects in his ability on the ball, where he isn’t someone who’s gonna take too many risks in posession, but is solid in build up and is a very agile dribbler who can carry the ball forward consistently. He is valued at 55m, and would be a phenomenal Varane replacement in my opinion.
Transfers for the ST backup/competition
1.Joshua Zirkzee
Zirkzee was one of the stars in Bologna’s miraculous season. He is someone who is closer to a False 9 than a proper number 9, but his aerial prowess combined with his pace make him an excellent threat in behind, while his incredible dribbling and passing make him a huge threat in the build up as well. At united, he would offer more than just goals, and would take some of the creative burden off Bruno Fernandes while also offering a level of dynamism to help break down low blocks. He is valued at 50m, and would be a fantastic addition in my opinion, offering a unique ability as a striker to help make United more unpredictable.
2.Joao Pedro
Joao Pedro is another player who has a very unique skillset, offering a solid goal scoring threat with a good combination of pace, aerial ability and finishing, while also being a brilliant dribbler and passer, offering the dynamism that we have been talking about. He enjoyed a succesful first season in the Premier League for Brighton, and could really bolster this United squad, with an ability to play as a striker, winger, or even as an attacking mid, providing solid backup to Bruno Fernandes. He is valued at 45m, and has immense potential for growth.
