What do Manchester United need to do in the summer transfer window?
Erik ten Hag needs to sign the personnel necessary to keep making progress.
So this article has been coming for a while but I thought after Manchester United suffered an embarrassing Europa League exit to Sevilla, now was the perfect time to pen it.
Erik ten Hag has done a good job so far as United's manager. If he finishes in the top four I will upgrade that to great and if he wins the FA Cup I might even say excellent, but at the moment with games left to play, I will settle on good.
The foundations are there for United to build on but it isn’t just a matter of time and coaching; new personnel are needed and therefore this summer is incredibly important for Ten Hag.
Now, before we move on, I should make it clear that I don’t think a good summer window will make United title challengers. For me, the club is still too far away from the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal even with upgrades, but what Ten Hag can do is continue to improve and get closer.
Part of the way United will do that is by signing depth; players like Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes need suitable backups.
This however only secures the floor of the team and stops them from becoming ineffective when players are injured, suspended or need resting. United need starters as well.
So that’s what this article is going to be about - the three positions I think United needs to address this summer, why I believe this is the case and also players I think will suit the role (which is something I’ve avoided doing until now).
Well, let’s get into it….
Position 1 - Goalkeeper
Why?
I think you all saw this one coming. There is not a scenario where I see any positives in keeping David de Gea past the end of his contract next season.
Some may say ‘Well he could help bed the new guy in,’ but it will always be De Gea’s intention to be number one, as he showed in the past when United tried to phase him out in the past for Dean Henderson.
Factor in that even if he takes a 50% pay cut on his £375k a week deal, he will still be the highest-earning goalkeeper in the league (more than Allison) and the fact that he is declining and it seems like a no-brainer to part ways with him.
So if United let De Gea’s contract expire they need to sign a new number-one in the transfer market.
What profile should be looking for?
The sort of goalkeeper United should be looking for is probably the easiest profile to explain.
United need a proactive goalkeeper. Yes, it is important that the player stops shots when he is faced with them but it should be his priority to prevent them from happening in the first place; sweeping, claiming crosses and helping to retain possession.
I’ve always said when a goalkeeper prevents a shot, they reduce the attackers’ probability of scoring to zero but the moment they allow them to get a shot off, no matter how good a shot-stopper they are, they are giving the attacker a chance to score.
United’s new keeper also needs to be good with their feet, especially when the opponent puts them under pressure.
This is the sort of player Ten Hag has favoured in the past; at Ajax, he used 38-year-old veteran Remko Pasveer between the sticks when Andre Onana was unavailable because he was the most secure on the ball. Pasveer told the Dutch media about the manager:
“He is possessed by his job. It’s insane how many hours he puts into it, he wants to control everything, and he sees everything. For him, the goalkeeper is essential in the start of the build-up, even under the highest pressure. I love this."
It seems like a lot to ask (but then again United fans have been starved watching De Gea in recent years), but as the game has evolved in the past few years, keepers who fit this profile are becoming more and more common.
Who fits the bill then?
Mike Maignan and Diogo Costa are many United fans’ dream options for the goalkeeper position and they are indeed both exceptional options who fit the profile the club should be looking at perfectly.
The only issue is both would command a huge transfer fee from AC Milan and Porto respectively and this might make it difficult for United to agree a deal this summer.
David Raya is the next notch down in both quality and price with Brentford reportedly willing to accept around £40m for the goalkeeper this summer. In both games against United this season, the Spanish keeper (who has displaced De Gea in the national team) has shown his quality when distributing the ball out from the back. This is also the case for Robert Sanchez who has been out of favour at Brighton in recent weeks.
Many young options have been touted such as Bart Verbruggen and Lucas Chevalier and if United have the long-term in mind, then this could be the direction they want to go in.
In that vein, an outside shout is 20-year-old Konstantinos Tzolakis from Olympiakos. I’m not going to claim to be an avid watcher of the Greek Super League but a few people have mentioned his name to me as a good young goalkeeper to take a look at and I’ve been impressed by the few clips I have seen. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on in the future even if he doesn’t move to United.
Overall though, I think Raya or Sanchez are the best choices which given their relationship with De Gea in the national team, is quite poetic.
Position 2 - Possession-focused Midfielder
Why?
‘Tempo’ is a word that seems to be missing from the United squad’s vocabulary or at the very least they have the wrong definition written down.
United have a tendency to play the game at 100mph which can overwhelm their opponents and get the upper hand, but when they need to slow the game down, retain possession and see a result out, they struggle. This has led them to lose points this season.
But this isn’t the only reason United need a new midfielder.
Though Christian Eriksen has filled in admirably, both he and Casemiro are not the best players to build up through. They are both uncomfortable under pressure from the opponent and struggle to play through the press.
Casemiro can to some extent get away with this due to his exceptional defensive abilities making up for his on the ball quality (he also has a great long pass and box presence which are in the plus column), but the midfielder next to him needs to be more comfortable.
What profile should United be looking for?
United need a midfielder who can pick the ball up from his centre-backs, turn and then carry it past the first line of the press. This would allow Ten Hag to tell his team to play out from the back more regularly.
They also need to have the spacial awareness to position themselves regularly in a way that gives their teammates a consistent option to pass to when they come under pressure.
A wide range of passing would be a bonus, but given he will be playing in front of Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw who already offer that, I think a player with added defensive security would be more beneficial; someone who uses their on pitch awareness to stop transitions, intercept passes and shepherd attackers into less dangerous areas.
Who fits the bill then?
Many United fans will instantly shout Frenkie de Jong and while yes, he does fit the profile of the sort of midfielder Ten Hag will be looking for, I think it would be better if United avoid getting back into that messy transfer saga again.
With Sergio Busquets likely to leave, De Jong’s position will be secured at the Nou Camp and he has already told the media on many occasions that he is at his ‘dream club’, so what’s the point in wasting time.
I should also point out that Andre Trindade from Fluminense looks like a good cheaper options and I’d like to thank Jack Fawcett for bringing him to my attention. The same goes for Sivert Mannsverk from Molde; a player I have watched a few times this season and been incredibly impressed by.1
Declan Rice is also going to be a play that get’s linked as usual, but I think that West Ham will still ask for too much for his services (if they go down then we may be able to have a different conversation).
For me, there are only two options - Moises Caicedo from Brighton and Ismael Bennacer from AC Milan.
United have been linked with Caicedo before when he was still playing for Independiente del Valle, but issues over his representation halted a deal (which he has since resolved). Brighton however were willing to take that risk and since he has move to the PL he has been exceptional. The only issue is his price tag as he has signed a new contract and the fact that Arsenal are also interested.
Bennacer on the other hand is a player that I have always championed. He has been exceptional for Milan this season and is one of the reasons they find themselves in a Champions League semi-final. He reportedly has a release clause of around £44m in his contract and at 25 years old he would be a long term solution to United’s midfield problems.
Position 3 - Striker
Why?
Mancheser United haven’t had much luck with strikers this season. One did an interview with Piers Morgan and got himself sacked, one has been constantly injured and the other is Wout Weghorst2.
So it’s pretty obvious that United need a goalscorer this summer and to be honest this is the easiest situation to explain when your number nine options (if you omit Marcus Rashford) have only scored 12 between the three of them.
What profile should United be looking for?
Now this is actually a hard question because I think going forward is where Ten Hag’s football has the most potential to change depending on who he brings in as a striker.
He could bring in a forward who gets incredibly involved in the build up and links up regularly with his teammates (as Wout Weghorst has in his loan spell) or he could decide to move for a forward who acts as the focal point; taking less touches but in more dangerous areas.
Ten Hag has played with both during his time as manager, so it’s just a case of how he sees his attack functioning when he adds more pieces to it.
Who fits the bill then?
Quite a few names will be thrown around by United fans of who the club should sign as their number nine this summer.
Harry Kane has been consistently linked with a move to Old Trafford due to Tottenham Hotspurs struggles but there is the issue of price and his age.
Youngsters such as Goncalo Ramos, Vitor Roque3, Randal Kolo Muani and Rasmus Hojlund have also been touted. I really like all three but I feel like they all come with the risk that they may not be able to hit the ground running in the Premier League due to their inexperience.
Evan Ferguson is also an option but it seems he is likely to continue his development at Brighton and sign a new contract with the Seagulls.
For me, there is only one definitive option for United this summer and they should pull out all the stops to get him and if you’ve followed me on Twitter for long enough you already know who that is.
Victor Osimhen is one of the top three strikers in the world right now. He has scored 26 goals this season for Napoli and will likely lead the Italian side to their second ever Scudetto (his absence is probably also the reason that the Italian side went out of the Champions League against Milan).
Osimhen is a physical monster. Carl Anka pointed out in a video for Tifo his freakish running style where he constantly alters the top half of his body to confuse defenders about the distance between them, which when combined with his pace is a deadly weapon.
He also has an insane jump; able to clear defenders with ease and head the ball into the back of the net.
What is most impressive about the Nigerian forward is his spacial awareness and tenacity to get into those spaces (which sometimes leads to injury because he will throw himself into them). If there’s a gap he will find it and that makes it incredibly difficult to mark in the box.
Overall these signings may not win United the title next season, but they will get Ten Hag closer to it.
More importantly these three signings will make United have a competently put together starting XI on which Ten Hag can properly start imprinting his style of play.4
It won’t be cheap and United may have to sell some players and get creative about signing depth next season to allow for it, but it is important for me at least, that these three positions are addressed in the summer if the team are to continue progressing in the 2023/24 campaign.
I have not watched enough of Orkun Kökçü to pass any comment on him, it’s on my list to do but a lot of people like him.
This was harsh, he tries but he isn’t starting quality for United and his goal return hasn’t been great.
I love Vitor Roque just as a side note, he’s so good and if I’m taking my sensible ‘Can he do it in the Premier League’ hat off for a second, I’d love him to be the back-up to Osimhen alongside Hojlund.
Some people might say ‘what about right back’ but I honestly don’t think that’s as big an issue personnel wise as the other positions.