Manchester United Rebuild
The problems at Manchester United are endless and at this moment, in the short term, it seems unlikely that the club will be reaching the top 4. Now, a club like United should be making the top 4 and finishing well and truly inside the top 4 every season. However over the last few years, since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, the standards have dropped astronomically.
The players are overpaid princesses who care more about their brand and social media status than winning games of football, the board are incompetent and disorganised while the owners are parasites who take out dividends from the club in Florida in the United States.
There’s no guarantee that the future will be bright for United in the long term. Many at the beginning of this season felt that if we signed a central defensive midfielder, then we would be challenging for a title. However, what has transpired throughout this season, is that these players are nowhere near good enough as a team.
Sure, individually many of the players are incredibly talented. But ultimately, football is a team game. An idea that has been lost at this club for far too long now.
Sir Alex used to emphasise to the young academy players to the senior and established players the importance of playing as a team. The iconic “Lunch atop a Skyscraper” photo used to hang up on his wall in his office. The significance of that photo was fundamental to his long term success.
“The photograph in my office explains what a football team is and has to do. What is the greatest thing a team can do? They can sacrifice their life for each other and sometimes when one falls two can save him. That [image] is what you call sacrifice.”
Creating a team is the most important objective for the next permanent manager, who will take charge of the team from July 1st 2022, or perhaps even earlier.
One aspect that needs to be sorted, is clearing out the players who either
1. Don’t want to be at the club
and/or
2. Aren’t good enough for the club
The next manager may see differently to me, but the players who should be moved on before the commencement of the 2022/23 season should be;
- Dean Henderson
- Harry Maguire
- Phil Jones
- Aaron Wan-Bissaka
- Scott McTominay
- Nemanja Matić
- Fred
- Paul Pogba
- Jesse Lingard
- Edinson Cavani
- Mason Greenwood*
- Cristiano Ronaldo
*there are still further legal investigations to be made, however, I assume he won’t be involved with the squad next season as a result.
Now that is a lot of players who I have listed there. Some may feel that I am crazy for wanting all of these players moved on, but the club needs to be rebuilt and done so properly.
As I have selected quite a few important players, I will detail why I would look to let those players go.
Dean Henderson
A goalkeeper who was certainly rated highly during his time with the academy has yet to look convincing as United’s number one. His willingness to leave is also a major factor.
Harry Maguire
One of the worst purchases the club has made since Sir Alex’s retirement. The club wasted £80 million on a player who’s got a slower turning speed than the Titanic. Maguire has not lived up to the expectations of being a starting centreback for Man United nor as Captain.
Phil Jones
It’s been unfortunate for Phil Jones the number of injuries and abuse he’s received during his time at United. In the end he never really deserved it. However, he’s not been good enough for the club. Time to part ways.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
A huge requirement for the modern fullback is to be balanced both offensively and defensively. Wan-Bissaka may be a decent defender, albeit his positioning from crosses from the left-hand side is appalling, but going forward he’s useless. United can do better.
Scott McTominay
Genuinely cannot understand why he is rated so highly. Championship midfielder is his level in my view.
Nemanja Matić
Was good 5 years ago, now age has caught up with him. Time to move on.
Fred
No idea why we signed this guy in the first place. Mourinho didn’t want him and so far Fred hasn’t shown why he deserves to start games consistently.
Paul Pogba
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Pogba when he came back to United in 2016. Lots of hype and promise after a big-money move but ultimately didn’t deliver over a consistent period. He’ll most likely be leaving anyway due to his contract situation.
Jesse Lingard
Had a good spell under Ole when he was caretaker but ultimately, Lingard never has been good enough to play for United. It’s clear he wants to go and with his contract expiring along with Pogba’s, it’s time to move on.
Edinson Cavani
A loyal servant over the last few years but it’s clear his head is elsewhere. Allow him to go, as he’s not benefiting the club much in the short or long term future.
Cristiano Ronaldo
My favourite player of all time, however, I won’t be blinded by the fact he hasn’t been good enough during this season. He’s getting too old now and it’s time to let him leave as a legend. He doesn’t deserve the mess we’re in right now.
So with those players gone, the next area I’d look at would be implementing a style of play and finding players to suit that style of play. Unfortunately in the modern game, coaching players to fit a style of play isn’t as common as it was 10–20 years ago, now the solution is buying players.
I feel that over the last 10 years, United have not had a recognisable style of play. This was most particularly the case under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, which turned out to be one of his main criticisms. He would often look to maximise the individual output of players to win matches rather than the collective.
This strategy would work for a small period, as it’s not a sustainable long term method.
With the players at United’s disposal along with a few new signings I have in mind, I believe United’s style of play should be possession-based football with a heavy influence on quick transitions and aggressive high pressure.
That there is a distinct style of play and one that will benefit most importantly our team, not just a few players.
Ultimately, our defenders have found themselves to be under more pressure than needed, for instance, David de Gea has had to make the most saves (86) in the Premier League this season.
One way that this could be fixed is by deploying a high-pressure system. This way, we can limit the opposition’s time on the ball and not allow them to hurt us in dangerous areas.
Offensively, the quick transition aspect will assist a player like Marcus Rashford, who’s been below par this season, to explode and link up with United’s most creative players in Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho. Speed combined with creativity is a dangerous proposition and one that United could take advantage of next season.
The first thing is having a system, a set formation. United have tried many formations over the years but we need to find one and stick with it. The 4–3–3, which was successful during Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s caretaker period, should be the system moving forward.
This system allows for possession-based football but it can also transition into a 4–2–3–1 system in the defensive phase, which is arguably the best system when it comes to aggressive pressing and having a solid defensive structure, due to how compact the spaces can be made centrally.
So now, a fair amount of signings need to be made. Historically, Manchester United have made poor signings, where the club has recorded an eye-watering £903 million net spend during the past 10 seasons — spending £1.3 billion and recouping £395 million from player sales.
This time though, the signings made won’t be for the wrong players for stupid prices.
Firstly I’d begin with a pretty important position, centreback. By getting rid of Harry Maguire, United need a defender who can slot in next to Raphaël Varane. Varane to be fair to Solskjær was an elite signing who has been one of the standout players this season.
For me when we’re looking for a partner for Varane, a key quality will be pace. United aspire to play with a high line so that teams can be compressed within their own half and that way, our players are closer to the opposition’s goal.
With Maguire in the side, we had to drop the line back a bit or what was the case this season under Ole, be exposed in transition.
Another element we would need within this new signing would be the player’s ability to carry the ball forward into deep areas. Maguire was not too bad in this area, as quite often he would be the one to drive with the ball from deep areas.
Manuel Akanji should be the player to replace Harry Maguire. The 26-year-old Swiss international has been highly impressive during his time at Borussia Dortmund and this upcoming transfer window would be an excellent time to get him.
At this moment, Akanji’s contract expires next year (2023) and Transfermarkt values him at roughly €30 million (which is about £25 million). This would be a smart deal for United, as he is a cheap move and current interim manager, Ralf Rangnick rates this player very highly.
Akanji as a defender is comfortable playing with either foot, as he has been successfully deployed on the right and left in either a back 4 or 5. Standing at 1.87m and weighing 85kgs, he also boasts impressive speed. His speciality, however, is bringing the ball out from the back, be it via well-timed runs or long, accurate passing.
These qualities Akanji possess will suit us so well, particularly his passing and speed. From a statistical comparison as a result of the games played in their respective leagues this season, the Swiss defender beats Maguire in many key categories.
For instance, Akanji boasts a higher passing accuracy per game this season (90.6%) than Harry Maguire (85.6%). What makes this more impressive, is that Akanji averages more passes per game (73.4) than Maguire.
When we look at speed, Akanji has recorded a top speed in the Bundesliga of 34.35 km/h this season, whereas with Maguire, the top speed he recorded in the Champions League this season was 29 km/h.
Another reason to consider Manuel Akanji is that his favourite club growing up was Manchester United. The club ultimately needs players who care about this club and understand what this club means.
“Aside from Real [Madrid], Manchester United was my favourite club.”
With Borussia Dortmund keen to sell Akanji, United need to be quick and construct a deal to bring him into the club. He certainly is capable of being one of the best centre-backs in Europe and he’d be a massive upgrade on Harry Maguire.
To complete the back four, United need to bring in a right back. We could try and spend millions of pounds on a top-quality right back, like Achraf Hakimi from PSG. Or, United could actually be a smarter club and bring in a top-quality right back who will be leaving his club for free this upcoming transfer window.
Noussair Mazraoui has been a standout player for Erik ten Hag’s Ajax this season and the fact we could get him for absolutely nothing is an absolute bargain.
Mazraoui is a complete fullback, who’s offensive-oriented, which is what United need in a fullback. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was decent defensively, but ultimately he wasn’t good enough going forward which saw United heavily attack down the left-hand side for a large portion of Solskjær’s time at the club.
So for me going forward, United need to place a lot of emphasis on the fullback’s ability to progress the ball forward, given this is a tactic used by many elite managers in Europe at this moment. Also, it was within the DNA of the club for the fullbacks to be offensively oriented and Mazraoui for his price and ability is the perfect candidate.
The 24-year-old is a player who loves to get forward, as so far in the Eredivisie he’s scored 5 goals and registered 3 assists which is pretty decent for a fullback.
Mazraoui on the ball is a player who loves to dribble and play many short passes, linking up with offensive players. He’s the best fullback in Europe when it comes to Progressive Passes Received (6.97 per game), which is essentially completed passes that move the ball towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its furthest point in the last six passes, or any completed pass into the penalty area.
His dribbling is another key trait of his, where he completes 7.15 Progressive Carries per game, which puts him in the 91% percentile of fullbacks in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
Defensively, he’s perhaps not the greatest but that can be accommodated by Akanji and Varane’s defensive ability as well as United adopting a much more solid defensive structure.
If Manchester United are wanting to add more dynamism and flexibility with their attacking play, then Noussair Mazraoui has to be the number one target for the right back position.
Centre defensive midfield, is the position that many Manchester United fans have been crying out for some investment in. There have been shouts by a large section of the United faithful for the club to sign West Ham captain, Declan Rice.
Now don’t get me wrong, Rice is a fantastic player who is right now the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League. However, what I don’t want, is this club buying a player in this position for a fee that could get as high or even higher than £100 million.
The player who I would go for instead would be Boubacar Kamara from Marseille. Now, United could’ve purchased the 22-year-old in January for a quoted price of £10 million. However, we refused although fortunately he will be available for free in this upcoming transfer window and the club cannot be caught out here.
Kamara is a solid midfielder who’s caught the eye of many top clubs this season, with Real Madrid touting him as a potential Casemiro replacement. Now when you’ve got clubs as big as them looking at a player to be the long term fix for an important position, you know that you’ve got a solid player.
This season, Kamara has played as a holding midfielder in Marseille’s midfield three which is exactly the position United are in need of right now.
When we look at some of his strengths, Kamara is very good when it comes to
- Aerial duels
- Passing
- Concentration
- Tackling
- Blocking the ball
These are key qualities that are required for a defensive midfielder. FBref, the website that collates statistics of every major player in world football, have stated that Liverpool midfielder, Fabinho is the player who is the most similar statistically to Kamara.
As I mentioned earlier, one of Kamara’s key qualities is his passing. When compared with other midfielders in Europe’s top 5 leagues, he’s ranked in the 94% percentile when it comes to Passes Attempted (75.46 per game) and Pass Completion (90.1%).
Now, people may look at the fact that Kamara doesn’t make too many tackles per game (2.59) compared to someone like Wilfred Ndidi (4.25). However, this is because Kamara doesn’t get dribbled past too many times which is a result of his positioning. Again, when you compare how many times per game Kamara would get dribbled past compared (0.6) to Ndidi (2.2), Kamara is so much better.
United need a solid, long term defensive midfielder and there’s none better that are available for free than Boubacar Kamara.
With Paul Pogba going in the upcoming transfer window, Manchester United need an advanced midfielder who can play alongside Portuguese international, Bruno Fernandes. Now United could try and go for a like for like replacement by going for Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić.
While Milinković-Savić is an incredible player who is having a decent season with Lazio, it would be a similar situation to Rice. He’s valued quite highly by Lazio so I wouldn’t necessarily go for him.
Instead, I’d go for Youri Tielemans from Leicester City, who would be in a similar situation to Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund, in that his contract expires in 2023. This would give United the edge in the deal, as Leicester wouldn’t want to lose a player of Tielemans’ quality on a free transfer next year.
Tielemans has been valued at around £40 million although there is hope that a deal could be done slightly cheaper at around £35 million.
This deal makes sense to me, as the Belgian international is now ready to take that big step to play for a big club.
So far this season in the Premier League, Tielemans has scored 5 goals and registered 2 assists. But scoring goals isn’t necessarily his best quality. It’s his ability on the ball.
Tielemans is a midfielder who looks to create for attacking players and United need another creative midfielder to take some of the pressure off of Fernandes. xA (otherwise known as Expected Assists), is a new statistic that looks at the likelihood that a given pass will become a goal assist. It considers several factors including the type of pass, pass end-point and length of the pass.
Against midfielders from Europe’s top 5 leagues, Youri Tielemans ranks in the 94% percentile with an xA of 0.17 per game. As a comparison, the best midfielder in that category, Kevin de Bruyne, has an xA per game of 0.34.
Another statistic that’s of great worthiness is Shot-Creating Actions, which are the two offensive actions directly leading to a shot, such as passes, dribbles and drawing fouls. Tielemans often gets fouled a lot in the Premier League, due to his tight ball control and quick interplay. Per game, Tielemans ranks in the 95% percentile with 3.47 Shot-Creating Actions.
Finally, Progressive Passes, an area that isn’t usually seen with United’s midfielders is somewhere that Tielemans dominates. In terms of how many Progressive Passes he makes per game, Tielemans ranks in the 87% percentile, as he makes 5.97 per game. As a comparison, that is 0.40 progressive passes per game more than Paul Pogba averages.
So with Tielemans being a deal that could be struck at around £35–40 million pounds, United should really consider going for him. He’ll strongly aid in making United a better team when it comes to creating chances and keeping possession.
Now you may have noticed a trend with the four players so far I’ve suggested Manchester United should sign; they’re all cheap. At this moment, United would’ve spent £60 million, with Akanji and Tielemans contributing to that, while Mazraoui and Kamara would all be free.
This is so much better business for United, as it’s effective and less has been spent on more players who are good enough to play for the club.
So in terms of looking for a long term striker, I’d follow a similar pattern by bringing in a player who won’t cost a ridiculous amount of money.
Darwin Núñez, the 22-year-old Uruguayan striker who plays for Benfica is being touted as the next big striker. It’s no surprise in the end, given Benfica produced João Félix, who during his time there was hotly sought after by many big clubs.
Núñez is a big boy and his imposing figure is certainly impressive when you look at how he bullies his way through defenders, in a very similar way to Erling Haaland.
So far in the Primeira Liga, the Uruguayan has been very impressive, scoring 16 goals and registering 2 assists in 17 appearances.
His biggest strengths are his key passes, dribbling, finishing and long shots. These are key qualities for a centre forward and Núñez certainly has the potential to be one of the best.
If I was in charge of United, I’d certainly take a punt on him. He’s a young player but someone who could be elite. In terms of how much he’d cost, he’d probably be valued at around £40 million, which is a solid deal with all things considered, especially with how much he could be worth in the next five years.
So with those signings in mind, how would I line up Manchester United ahead of Matchweek 1 in the Premier League next season?
In goal, David de Gea. This current season he has been immense and certainly has contributed to the team not suffering more embarrassing results as his shot-stopping ability has been on full display this season, hence him winning the January Player of the Month in the Premier League, the first goalkeeper to do so in six years.
At left back, I would go with Alex Telles. Honestly couldn’t care less if people want Luke Shaw instead, the point is they’re both decent left backs. But I feel Telles is better going forward offensively, and we need the fullbacks to be very good going forward. I could definitely see a striker like Núñez profiting off a Telles cross.
The centreback partnership would be Manuel Akanji and Raphaël Varane. I feel that these two could be really solid together, as they’re both very good defensively, quick and they’re good on the ball. Sure would allow United to be more adventurous going forward and more secure at the back.
At right back it would be Noussair Mazraoui. He’s been crazy good for Ajax this season and he’s certainly got room to be even better. Offensively he’s a beast and if he tightens up a little bit more defensively, United would have one of the most balanced backlines in the Premier League.
In centre defensive midfield, Boubacar Kamara would be the man. His potential is incredible and the fact that he would be free heading into this upcoming season is huge. Kamara is a solid defensive midfielder who’ll only get better.
Ahead of him would be Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans. Both are very good on the ball and both are creative. Attributes that I rate very highly with midfielders. I feel they’d have a very good partnership and would create many chances for the forwards.
On the left wing, I’d have Marcus Rashford. This season clearly hasn’t been his best. But there’s still a good player in there, he just needs the right coaching. His explosiveness and directness are valuable qualities and if coached properly, he could be immense.
On the right, Jadon Sancho. Over the last few weeks, he’s really started to find his feet and I’m very happy with how he’s been progressing. He’s tricky, creative and dynamic, attributes that a winger needs. If I’m going 1v1 against Sancho, I’m raising the white flag and praying to Jesus.
The number nine should be Darwin Núñez. Bold move going with a young striker in him, but when he’s got a potential that good, you may as well give him a go. Besides, this club was built on giving young players an opportunity and Núñez offers something different, physicality. He’ll be a real focal point in the box, giving our players someone to find when delivering crosses.
Now to conclude, these transfers are all hypothetical. There’s no guarantee the Glazers and/or the next permanent manager would want all of these players in this upcoming window. This window will be the most important in the club’s history, as our competitors are getting better and we’re falling away fast.
So time will tell when it comes to seeing how United will progress over the next few years. We can only hope it’s positive.
