GK - not fussed
LB - An energetic, pacey attacking left back. Cucurella fits the mould, but just one example. He's also quite versatile and can fill various positions.
CB - ideally left footed, pacey, good in the air. Lower priority than other positions, so I'd be content with a young player who would be content to start on the bench initially, and ready to take their chances when our first choice are injured or out of form again with a view to becoming first choice. Salisu from Southampton looks good.
RB - complicated. Laird waiting in the wings but not ready, Williams potentially as a backup covering both flanks, Dalot and AWB both still young and have some potential, maybe, but a decison needs to be made, get rid of those the manager doesn't see potential in, bring in a quality RB, or another potential top talent like Livramento or Spence. I can see this being position being unchanged by the start of next season.
CM - Rice, Neves, De Jong, Tchouaméni, we need one of these at least. De Jong would be my preference, I love that style of player and its something United have lacked for several years, and ETH could build the midfield around him. Ideally two CMs, but I think one is likely with VdB being part of the squad, Fred and McTominay playing bit-part roles, possibly Garner in the squad, and possibly Hannibal although the latter may be used in more advanced positions. If one or two of the latter go out on loan, then maybe bring in one of the Ajax CMs or another youngster specialist DM for squad depth, with a view to phasing out McTominay the next summer.
AM - possibly the only place we're okay, with Bruno, backed up by VdB, Hannibal, Shoretire. The bigger question is whether we'll play with a number 10 most of the time, or whether we'll prefer a 6 and 2 8s.
LW - Another position we're OK in for a while. Sancho should be an important part of the new manager's plans, with Elanga and Rashford involved.
RW - We absolutely need a specialist in this position, not someone who can merely do a job there. Someone like Raphinha would be ideal but I don't think we'd get him, Antony maybe more realistic.
CF - If Ronaldo leaves we need a top number 9 worthy of leading the line for Manchester United. I fear we'll chase Kane all summer and be rejected, as we're currently a sideways/downward step from Spurs, and Kane doesn't seem to sort to jump ship for the money and he doesn't have time to wait a few years in the hope we become genuine title contenders. I reckon we'll see Bruno as a false 9 at times, perhaps with another 10/false 9 brought in too like Nkunku, and bring in another option who can play the traditional 9 role when needed. Ideally our new setup will identify a young player who can come in and provide competition immediately but has the potential to become top level, but I'm not aware of who and fear we'll end up with a short term backup option like Haller or Calvert-Lewin.
While I don't agree with every name on here, I do like the idea. There needs to be balance between the big money signings for big talented players and lower money signings for depth in the team for players who can play.
For the big money signings, I would go first with
Darwin Nunez at CF. He would need to be convinced to forgo Champions League football for a year and to buy into Ten Haag and the future at United. Then, I would go for a defensive midfielder:
Rice,
Tchouameni, or
DeJong are all good options. I don't think one would be going wrong with any of these three. That might be all the big money signings for one season.
In midfield, I think that
Garner can contribute next year.
Fred, I think, in a more structured system with more pressing may excel.
McTominay is a good backup. Hopefully,
VDB under Ten Haag can find better form and contribute. I would look into buying
Firmino, who can play at attacking midfielder. He also has been playing in a pressing system and he has played for a winning team.
Then, there is depth needed at CB. I like
Salisu at Southampton. I do not think that he is the long-term answer, but he has the athleticism and ability to be the 3rd or 4th CB and cover for injured/tired CBs. I'd hope that
Mengi is ready to take on a role as the 4th or 5th CB.
Jones and
Bailly should be gone, and depending upon
Mengi and transfers,
Lindelof could be sold as surplus to plans.
At LB, I think that
Brandon Williams is better than
Telles; he is faster and better defensively. He can get forward, though he is not quite as good technically as
Telles, but
Telles certainly is not consistent in putting balls into the box. Plus, he is so slow that he cannot keep up with most, modern wingers and he can't get back on defense after going forward. When healthy,
Shaw is certainly good and sometimes better than good.
At RB, there are a few young RBs that might be had for less than major money.
Rico Henry at Brentford is better than either option we have right now. He may not be the answer for the future, but he could give us a decent couple of years before
Ethan Laird comes into the spot, or United bring in a higher-rated and more expensive player. Another possibility is
Jed Spence of Forest (and Middlesborough). He is younger and has more potential than
Henry.
Spence, if he reaches his potential, could be a long-term answer.
AWB could be sold for a decent amount. In the right system, he is an excellent RB. But he is never going to be effective in a system where the RB needs to get forward more than sit back and defend. He would improve the defense of most mid- and lower- table clubs (e.g., Crystal Palace). And,
Dalot is a good backup.
I don't really think that we need incoming talent on the wings. That is the one place where we have both currently talented, if underperforming players, and young and upcoming players. If we had a chance at
Mbappe or
Vinicius Jr., of course, we should jump at it. But I'm not certain we would improve the position much by spending 30-50 million on talent similar to what we already have.
We are rebuilding, which includes building depth - not an old folks club on the bench - as while as a starting 11.
