5 players: A CB, a CM, a LWB, an AM, and a Striker.
Players: Branthwaite, Ederson, Alt-Nouri, Cunha, Osimhen.
Explanation below: (long as feck).
(a) The Young Players:
The fanbase is so quick to criticise many of our players and want to rip this squad to shreds, but the truth is that the squad is down to the bare bones now, between injuries and outgoings. Most of the players that come in for heavy criticism are pretty young. People state their "problems" as though they are permanent issues, rather than just be flaws in the games of players who are still developing. Lets quickly look at the young talent in this squad that is already ready to make a big contribution, and have significant scope to improve:
Heaven (18), Yoro (19), Dorgu (20), Mainoo (19), Collyer (21), Hojlund (22), Zirkzee (23), Amad (22), Garnacho (20), and Ugarte (23).
That is a really fantastic group of young players, all of whom should end up playing significant parts in this squad for years to come. Some, such as Yoro, Dorgu, Mainoo, Amad and Garnacho, could become some of the best players in the league in their positions. Heaven looks a really exciting prospect, although it's too early to tell, Collyer has reliable squad player written all over him. Zirkzee is a real x-factor, as he could quickly become great, or he might amount to just being a decent squad player (I love his skill set and attitude). Hojlund has a lot of tools but is still raw and needs another season or so before we really judge, and Ugarte looks really strong all round. Not sure if he'll be undisputed first choice, but he has a lot of tools and will be an important player. Whatever your opinion on each of them, the specific don't matter too much at this stage, they are all young - and in several cases VERY young, and they should be allowed time to develop and mature accordingly. It's pretty crazy to be relying on players this young to deliver week in, week out.
(b) The Prime Players. Standard Bearers.....
So this next block of our squad, players in their prime years who should carry the responsibility, and help bring the young stars along, and help this develop into a willing team, are the following:
Mazraoui (27), De Ligt (25), Martinez (27), Dalot (25), Shaw (29), Mount (26), Fernandes (30), Rashford (27), Antony (25), Sancho (24).
This block of players in their prime are supposed to be the standard by which the rest of the squad is set. They are the benchmark. The level young players aspire to get to. The players that drive our biggest results and performances. Very, very quickly we can see that this is our problem right here. Of this list, only Mazraoui, De Ligt, Dalot and Fernandes, 4 of 10 players in their prime, are either fit or even at the club. And with the greatest respect to Mazraoui and Dalot, they are two players who I consider to be good, and very important squad players; but not two players which are going to be torchbearers for incredibly high performance levels. Their attitudes and contributions are first rate, but in an ideal world they would be rotational squad players. De Ligt is still finding his feet, but emerging as a genuine leader of the team and top level performer, and Bruno is well Bruno.....everything that is still great about this club. He is THE standard. Really the only one.
Martinez, Shaw and Mount are permanently injured. Rashford, Sancho and Antony are all out on loan.
It therefore is VERY clear to me that this summer, while we will I am sure bring in one or two players 23 or under, to continue to focus on developing stars (rather than buying them), that the club simply has to invest in 2-3 players in or entering their prime, who can really raise the standard of the whole team and perform immediately. We simply cannot fairly rely on a team of kids without any experienced leaders and performers in it, except for De Ligt (who is new too), and Bruno. That's the heart of the malaise here.
(c) The (not so) Golden Oldies.....
Of course we have other, older players who all need to move on in all probability.
Casemiro, Eriksen, Evans, Maguire, and Lindelof. Players commanding too much in wages for the relative value of their performances. But the loss of their experience will certainly have to be replaced by players in that 24-27 age bracket.
With all that said, what would I like to see, and why?
I am going to assume that all of the following will leave this summer:
Lindelof, Malacia, Maguire, Evans, Eriksen, Casemiro, Rashford, Antony, and Sancho. That's 9 first team players. In all probability we should likely add Shaw and Mount to that list. But I think they will be kept for (a) their versatility, (b) difficulty in shifting them on their wages and injury records, and (c) their homegrown status. However, if all those players go out, we will presumably have a decent amount to spend. In that case I would want to see:
1.
A versatile, modern centre-back, who is physically imposing. I would rather sign one very good CB, than two average ones. My outstanding candidate for this role is Jarrad Branthwaite. I like that he is PL proven, I like that he is extremely two footed and can play all along the back line, I like he is physically imposing and good on the ball, and I like that he brings good recovery pace to our options. He's on the young side, but already has a lot of top level experience. Can see him costing 60m or so, but at 22 and one of the outstanding english defensive talents out there, I think it'd be an excellent investment. For me, we would then have Yoro, De Ligt and Branthwaite as three outstanding CBs, along with Heaven as a huge prospect, Mazraoui as a very capable deputy, Martinez as a great leader (but no longer first choice), and maybe one month a year....Shaw.
2.
We need a mobile, physically durable, tireless, and technical midfielder. No small order there. The player that ticks all the boxes for me, is Ederson from Atalanta. At 25 years old he is player in the prime of his career, with tons of experience and his best years ahead of him. He ticks every box on the profile sheet. He great and breaking up play, runs endlessly, is great carrying the ball, and is technical and a threat going forwards when he wants to be. He would be a perfect partner to Ugarte while Mainoo develops and is third choice and rotation for the role. Imagine he would cost around 50m, but be a superb signing for us.
3.
We need another wingback. Someone physically robust, energetic, with pace, who can get up and down the flank. I would preferably like a left footer. On the left we have Dorgu. On the right next season, I think we should play Amad. The combination of Dorgu and Amad in the wide positions is mouth watering to me. Both very different, but both capable of running from deep with the ball and moving us up the field. Both with considerable threat going forwards, in different ways. Amad is superb receiving the ball under pressure and would be essential in the build up phase. If Amad is out, you resort to Dalot. A natural right footer on the right, it's a different option. More defensively robust, but still a solid option going forwards. Dalot is much better on the right than on the left. On the left, after Dorgu, we have no one. Unless it Dalot, and I already covered that. You could saw Shaw....never fit, or Mazraoui (I now see him as a CB in our system), so we need a left wingback, otherwise Dorgu will have to play 65 games. Milos Kerkez is a name I was talking about a year ago, and seems to be coming back into vogue. He's a player I like very much. And seeing as Dorgu is likely first choice, I am not sure it is necessary to buy an experienced understudy here. Kerkez has the quality to compete with Dorgu. One can also look at players like Theo Hernandez, Balde, Nuno Mendes, but these all seem unattainable to me, so the other serious option would probably be Rayan Alt-Nouri, who is almost unbelievably still only 23 and ticks all the boxes.
4.
Lets be frank, we simply need a goalscoring striker. Bruno is our main source of goals. Next season I imagine we'll see him mostly as a 10, but also playing plenty of games as a CM. In fact I wouldn't be surprised to see us go into the season with Ugarte, Ederson, Mainoo, Bruno, and Collyer as our first choice CMs, with the numbers supplemented with players from the academy (maybe Kone?). But even if we sign a second CM and Bruno is purely a 10, there just aren't enough goals in this team. We lack that killer instinct. We have some terrific approach players, in Bruno, Zirkzee, Garnacho, and maybe even Mount....we also have Amad who we can play there (but I see as being our RWB), but our only true striker is Hojlund. And all due respect to Rasmus but he is too young and too raw to take on that mantle at United just yet. The pressure is making him wilt. Even in one striker systems, you need to have two reliable strikers. So, we are looking for movement, pace, willingness to make the runs in behind, and above all....a killer instinct. A natural goalscorer. The outstanding candidate is surely Victor Osimhen. He's 26, scores goals for fun. Bags of pace. A real threat in behind. A striker in his prime years, with most of his best ones ahead of him, and available for what is a comparatively reasonable fee. Other candidates? Lautaro Martinez (too expensive), Gyokeres (just not sure about him at the highest level, especially for the price), or maybe someone with a slightly lesser profile in Victor Boniface. But my money is on Osimhen.
5. Okay, so is that it? No....We are one player light at the least.
We either need to sign another CM and leave Bruno to play AM full time, or sign another AM and let Bruno be an option for both roles. My money is on the latter, because I think Bruno will naturally go further back the pitch anyway as he gets older. So another AM it is. Something I think is necessary especially if we play Amad RWB. Well, the player I want is Matheus Cunha. Pace, Power, Dribbling, the full package really. Not a prolific scorer, but a consummate team player and really brings absolutely everything we lack. If we couldn't get him, it gets a bit dicier. I wouldn't be averse to a Dibbling for a reasonable fee. He doesn't come straight into the team but he does add something new, and is a bright English talent.
"Just" five signings, but signings that I think would transform this team and squad. Supplement it with a couple of under the radar gems for cheap fees, and a couple from the academy, and I suddenly start feeling good about next season:
Onana/Bayindir
Yoro, De Ligt, Branthwaite / Mazraoui, Heaven, Martinez, / Shaw
Amad, Ederson, Ugarte, Dorgu / Dalot, Bruno, Mainoo, Alt-Nouri / Collyer, Amass
Cunha, Bruno / Garnacho, Zirkzee / Mount
Osimhen / Hojlund / Obi
Out: Evans, Malacia, Maguire, Lindelof, Eriksen, Casemiro, Rashford, Antony, Sancho.
In: Branthwaite, Ederson, Alt-Nouri, Cunha, Osimhen
This squad has pace, power, technical ability, stamina, phsyicality, height. All positions are well covered. It's balanced. And I think it would be ultra competitive in every game. The would be a dangerous team going forwards, but very resilient in defence. The age profile on that squad is unbelievably good.
If you look at the numbers, what it would cost to bring those players in, versus what we can get for the players we sell, and the savings on wages for some of the highest earners - plus how report profits to PSR on sales vs acquisitions being amortised.....it's easily doable financially. My final point is that I would much, much, much rather sign the right five players, then make the budget go further and sign 7-8 players. That just doesn't work. Too much gambling and half measures. Every single one of the signings I've suggested is there or thereabouts the best player we can get for each position, that isn't completely unrealistic. They are all also young. The oldest is Osimhen at 26.
what, since you heard of him this morning?