The astonishing £150 million worth of talent added last summer brought mixed results to Old Trafford. Many began to question exactly where the Red Devils were heading with their protracted and aimless squad rejuvenation.
The scattergun approach adopted by David Moyes and continued by Louis van Gaal in his first summer in charge spoke to fans in no uncertain terms about the discrepant state of the squad. But it also seemed obvious that neither man could exactly identify the areas that most needed fixing.
Record signing Angel Di Maria struggled to come to grips with the English game in his first season. A combination of poor form and ill-discipline saw him lose his place to Ashley Young for much of the campaign. The highly rated Radamel Falcao came and went with barely a whimper. He struggled to beat out Robin van Persie as the first choice back up to Wayne Rooney. Big money signings from the Moyes-era Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata also arrived at Old Trafford with no obvious positions to fill. Unsurprisingly, they struggled for form and consistency until van Gaal was forced to accommodate them following crises of injuries and poor discipline.
The farcical transfer approach was exemplified by the signing of three left-backs last summer. Perhaps Luke Shaw’s age and the versatility of Daly Blind and Marcos Rojo make all three signings individually defensible, but in combination it gave off the look of a team desperate to add talent. This if course was after United had let Patrice Evra, their best left-back in perhaps two decades, walk to Turin. The left side of defence, which had never been an issue during Evra’s exceptionally consistent career was radically overhauled, whilst the perpetually problematic right and central-defence was once again neglected.
Perhaps only Ander Herrera arrived in Manchester with a clear position to fill and role to play in the team. This is extraordinary when you consider that United have also added promising winger Memphis Depay, veteran goalkeeper Victor Valdes and exposed youth team products Adnan Januzaj, James Wilson, Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair to first team football in the past two seasons. It has been a truly extraordinary overhaul delivered by a scattergun transfer policy at its most frustrating.
What was most concerning for United was that after all this, the reconstruction seemed only half complete. Another summer of manically adding the best available talent to an already burgeoning squad seemed a recipe for discontent and confusion.
But recent days have shed light on van Gaal’s plans about the future shape of the squad. Matteo Darmian from Torino is an astute acquisition. His versatility and consistency will immediately add to one of United’s longest standing weaknesses.
Antonio Valencia never represented a long term solution at right-back. Valencia’s defensive game has never been strong and his crossing has regressed alarmingly over the past few seasons. At this stage in his career the 29-year-old is better suited as a versatile squad player than a weekly starter. Rafael’s days as a United player also appear over.
But perhaps the biggest coup was the landing German of star Bastian Schweinsteiger from Bayern Munich. Michael Carrick’s importance to the side last season was spectacularly under-appreciated. United won 12 out of the 16 games Carrick started , losing only one, the 1-0 home loss to Southampton in January. When Carrick started on the bench or was absent through injury, United had eight wins, seven draws and six losses from 22 matches.
That is 2.43 points a game when the Englishman started as opposed to 1.4 when he did not. At 33, the veteran midfielder is not getting any younger and the injuries that have dogged him over the past two seasons are unlikely to abate.
Most disturbingly, United had no clear replacement for Carrick when he was absent. Daley Blind, Ander Herrera and Wayne Rooney all filled in at various stages and to wavering effects. Over the course of the season, that trio were clearly more effective elsewhere on the pitch.
Whilst Schweinsteiger does not represent a like-for-like replacement for the patient and distributive Carrick, he does offer a clear substitute in terms of leadership and experience. A midfield can be restructured around a powerful and experienced player like Schweinsteiger. Should Carrick again miss significant time, United will not have the look of a makeshift midfield that so often characterised their displays last season. If Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin is also brought in, then the midfield redevelopment is just about complete.
But their work is not yet done and van Gaal knows he still has two or three areas to address. The first is of course their goalkeeper situation, which will hang in the balance until David De Gea’s future is resolved.
Their defensive frailties last season were overshadowed by the weekly brilliance of the Spanish custodian. Without De Gea, an increasing amount of scrutiny would have been placed on the centre of the United defence and it would be a huge mistake not to address this in the summer.
Van Gaal experimented with Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Rojo, Jonny Evans, Paddy McNair, Tyler Blackett, Blind, Shaw, Valencia, Rafael, Young and even Carrick in various defensive posts last season. None have firmly established themselves in the back four come August.
Landing Sergio Ramos would instantly add experience and world class talent to the heart of the defence. It remains to be seen whether Ramos is using United a leverage for a better deal in Madrid or whether his interest in a switch to the Premier League is genuine. Given the dearth of world class defenders available on the market, United fans will be hoping its the latter. After all, having five or six ‘good’ central-defenders is no substitute for having one or two ‘great’ defenders.
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The final area to address will be at the other end of the pitch. Wayne Rooney clearly emerged as United’s best striking option last season. His form starved both van Persie and Falcao of opportunities and probably contributed to their exits. With both veterans now gone, United will need to secure some support for Rooney. Javier Hernandez has returned from an unsuccessful loan spell in Madrid. It is unlikely he possesses the tools to succeed in van Gaal’s setup. James Wilson, Adnan Januzaj and Di Maria are others who look to raw or unsuited to be made a permanent deputy. The decision to sell Danny Welbeck last summer is seeming more short-sighted by the day.
United are now in a delicate situation when it comes to adding reinforcements behind Rooney. Land too big a star and they could undermine their captain’s place in the team. Aim too low and they could end up landing this summer’s Rickie Lambert. Its a tough call and one that it is crucial to get right. But given their more targeted approach in recent weeks, fans should have increasing faith that United will land the right man.
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