The transfer window in England slammed shut on Thursday, and here we assess the business Manchester United did in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first summer in charge.
Manchester United bought three players in the transfer window, with young winger Daniel James joining from Swansea City, talented right back Aaron Wan Bissaka arriving from Crystal Palace, and Harry Maguire signing on a world record fee for a defender. As for departures, Romelu Lukaku was sold to Inter Milan, while Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia left on free transfers.
Overall, Manchester United were the biggest spenders in the Premier League with their outlay of 148 million euros. But despite their big splash in the market, it can easily be argued that the overall quality of their squad is much worse than it was at this point last season.
Granted, United have bolstered their shambolic defense with the signings of Wan Bissaka and Maguire (who they overpaid for), their midfield and attack look weaker than ever. Not replacing Lukaku (their top scorer), Fellaini and Herrera was a strange decision to say the least.
While United do have three talented forwards in Rashford, Martial and Greenwood in their ranks, they have yet to find the level of consistency required to lead the team into the top four. Alexis Sanchez is still there on his mammoth wages, but can they really expect him to turn up and perform if he hasn’t been able to in 18 months?
As for their midfield, barring Pogba, United have absolutely zero creativity in the middle of the park. And with the Frenchman keen on leaving, don’t be surprised if he decides to down tools midway through the campaign. While right wing is another issue despite the signing of a direct winger in Daniel James. The Welshman has great potential, but is not close to being the finished product United so badly needed.
Fringe players like Marcos Rojo and Matteo Darmian have also not been sold, meaning they are set for another season of earning big amounts of money for hardly playing. United have a total of SEVEN centre backs and the same number of full backs in their first team alone. While their options in midfield and attack are not only paper thin, but also lack the much needed quality.
While Ed Woodward has idly let yet another transfer window pass him by, both Arsenal and Tottenham have strengthened in areas that needed reinforcements. While Everton, Wolverhampton, Leicester and West Ham have all made some shrewd signings and look hungrier than ever in their bids to break into the top six.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer promised a big summer overhaul and the words “survival of the fittest” were also mentioned. But Ed Woodward failed to back him up, and now the former United striker will have to pull off something incredible if he is to lead his side to a top four finish this season.
The transfer window started with United fans dreaming about a move for Jadon Sancho, and it ended with #WoodwardOut trending on Twitter. That tells you all you need to know about Manchester United’s summer.