Who would have thought in 2013 that, after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, the ‘Red Devils’ would go more than 10 years without winning the Premier League and that their main rivals would become the best team in England as well as European champions. Times are tough at Old Trafford and Manchester United fans have been unable to recover such stability for a decade.
After Sir Alex Ferguson, they have played under coaches of all kinds such as David Moyes, Mourinho, Ralf Rangnick or Solskjaer, and none of them has managed to give them an identity or a defined playstyle that allowed them to contend for the league title. Currently, Erik Ten Hag is in the midst of his second season and sensations have not been much better.
After a good first year in which they qualified for the Champions League, the team began displaying a more clear style of play thanks to the ideas of the Dutch manager. However, things have not been so easy for them this season. Some of Ten Hags bets like Antony, Onana or Malacia have not been performing up to standard and players such as Jadon Sancho, with whom the Dutchman had major problems, have been forced to exit the team on loan.
The truth is that Manchester United have not exactly spent little in the last transfer windows, as they have overpaid for many players like Antony, an aging Casemiro (in spite of his solid performance), Onana and many others.
In addition to all of this, Rasmus Højlund struggled to consistently score in the Premier League early on, and, right when he was on top of his game, the Danish forward suffered an injury. Another offensive issue has been the form of Marcus Rashford, as he has been a shell of his post-World Cup self. As for Garnacho, he looks promising, but he currently is too inconsistent and still needs to establish himself.
When speaking of their midfield situation, it is worth mentioning the emergence of young Kobee Mainoo, one of the few good news for their fans this season. Bruno Fernandes remains the leader of the team and Casemiro brings in some extra competitiveness, but he has missed several matches this season.
They also signed Mason Mount to reinforce this area of the pitch, but in spite of his good reputation and unquestionable quality, he has barely contributed so far.
Lastly, their line of defense has suffered the most over the course of the season, as due to the injuries of Varane and Lisandro, a veteran Jonny Evans had to take the stage alongside Harry Maguire, who has performed far better than expected despite being heavily criticized. The defense of ‘The Reds’ also suffered absences like that of Luke Shaw or the departure of Sergio Reguilón, who did not really get a real chance during his stint at Old Trafford.
Manchester United currently rank sixth in the league table, and everything points towards them not qualifying for the upcoming Champions League. For now, it seems like Ten Hag will continue to be their manager and the club has just sold 25% of its ownership to Ineos, so a big investment is to be expected this summer.
Will they finally build a competitive squad?
Translated by Nuño Alonso.
Main image: @ManUtd.
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