I'd be buying in 2x ST, 1x CM, 1x CB, 1x RB. At a push, perhaps a GK. I'm not going to worry about the "who" in this post. I'm just trying to evaluate who we can sell based on what our squad will look like.
GK: I've never been more 50/50 on a keeper staying or going. I do think his incredible drop in form has been partially down to the incredible drop in quality in front of him, he simply doesn't play well with Maguire in particular.
Defence: Maguire goes, Dalot goes. AWB stays. Dalot unlucky but we need a high quality RB and I feel like AWB is the player who has performed better overall this season. Well aware that's a hot topic, and it's a tight call to say who goes but this is who I went with.
Central Midfield: This is tricky because of the age of Casemiro and Eriksen. I just don't think they have the legs. I'd be selling Fred. McT has been really good this season when called upon, but Fred has, a few goals aside, struggled to be consistent. I also get the feeling that ETH simply doesn't care for him at all. McT offers more than Fred, simply put. I don't care how much other clubs are willing to pay, I care about our squad, not theirs.
Attacking Midfield: I group this up as a number of the players can play in more than one of the spots. For me, it'd be Antony, Fernandes, Rashford, Garnacho as guaranteed spots in next year's squad. Sancho and Pellistri would be next. Elanga? Sold.
Strikers: Martial can stay because I want three strikers and it's not realistic to buy three in one window. I also don't want to count Rashford as one of the three strikers, I want him playing wide left when he's on. Rashford should only play ST if Garnacho is wide left. So, two strikers bought. No sales as Weghorst is simply a loan and Ronaldo is already gone.
IN: RB, CB, 2x CM, 2x ST - if we can dare afford more than that, throw in an AMR and another CB. Maybe a GK to replace DDG if we go down that road, too. Oh, and we'll need a 3rd keeper after Butland's loan finishes. I don't count this as a core signing, but worth noting.
OUT: Maguire, Dalot, Fred, Elanga, Henderson, Bailly, Telles, Jones, as well as loanees Butland, Sabitzer, Weghorst. Also anyone else who I might have overlooked that hasn't played for us this season.
Potential sales if we find the funds for even more replacements: Sancho/DDG.
* = potentially replaced, [pos] = new signing
Starting lineup: DDG*, [RB], Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Casemiro, [CM], Antony, Fernandes, Rashford, [ST].
Backup/Rotation: Heaton, [3rd GK], AWB, Lindelof, [CB], Malacia, [CM], McTominay, Eriksen, Sancho, Garnacho, Pellistri, Martial, [ST]
Emergency Use: Williams + Youth squad, pretty sure Williams is on peanuts anyway, I feel he's a decent extra player to backup the defence, but if we have a solid youth prospect we can play ahead of him then he can go too.
That makes a 26 man squad after 6 signings. Realistically we can go up to 30, so it allows for a bit of emergency backup and/or additional signings. It's also why you don't also see me saying we should sell everyone who isn't the second coming of Cantona, because quite frankly we need to be realistic: We have not purchased more than four players since 2015/16 (Martial, Schneiderlin, Depay, Darmian, Schweinsteiger). Even the six signings I've hoped for in this post would be a big change in recent buying history, but I'm counting on a new owner making a difference (optimistic in multiple ways there).
