Like most of the previous summers, Man United have once again gone and spent crazy amounts of money on new signings but there’s now a wave of optimism that Erik ten Hag will be able to solve most of the problems that Man United were facing last season.
So far, Manchester United have spent close to €200 million on seven new arrivals while they have managed to offload players worth only €25 million which means their current net spend stands at around -€166 million. This figure will obviously see a lot of changes in the coming few days because a handful of players are expected to come in and at the same time, we are going to see an exodus of many unwanted Man United players before deadline day.
After Ferguson left the club, Man United had made it a habit of spending money without proper scouting and most of their signings were big-name players who joined the club purely because of the money. However, under Erik ten Hag, this chaotic system has been binned because most of the signings are ones whom the manager needs in the squad.
Even before the 2022/23 season had ended, ETH was very clear what all areas needed to be patched up and thankfully, the club’s management have delivered on most of their promises. They have brought in an advanced midfielder, a sweeper keeper and also a centre-forward. United are still short of a central midfielder so if they can bring in Amrabat before the window shuts down then this will be one of their best transfer windows in a really long time.
How will Man United line up next season:
Ten Hag relied mostly on relied on a 4-2-3-1 system last season and we think the manager will stick to this same basic blueprint, at least for the first few months of the 23/24 season. He was famous for using the 3-1-6 system at Ajax so we will have to keep out an eye for that as well but we highly doubt Ten Hag will deploy such a complex system from the very first matchday, especially with so many new players coming in.
DEFENCE:
Andre Onana has replaced David De Gea in goal and this was Ten Hag’s biggest focus during the summer. Onana has that occasional mistake in him but he’s brilliant with his feet and thanks to the Cameroon international, Manchester United will finally have the courage to play out from the back.
Harry Maguire has been put up on the shop window and we have a strong feeling the central defender will be sold before the window shuts down. Varane and Lisandro Martinez are the first-choice centre-back pairing with Lindelof as the backup.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was perhaps the most improved player under ETH has season and we are sure he will be ahead of Dalot in the pecking order while Luke Shaw firmly holds onto his left-back role.
MIDFIELD:
Casemiro is going to be the main defensive midfielder and now with Mason Mount coming in, Ten Hag finally has another world-class central midfielder besides Eriksen.
If Man United are able to bring in Amrabat then he will slot in alongside Casemiro and if not then Mount can very easily play in tandem with Eriksen. We believe, Mason Mount is the natural heir to Eriksen but the United manager will like to slowly ring in this change.
Mount can also play as the No 10 which means Bruno will have to be on his toes this season but the Portugal international has been handed the captain’s armband which suggests he is one of the indispensable ones.
ATTACK:
Rasmus Højlund’s signing was another big success for Manchester United and the Danish international will lead the line from day one. Anthony Martial’s future at Old Trafford looks really bleak and it won’t be a total surprise if the manager greenlights his sale this summer itself.
All eyes will be on Højlund because the 6 feet 3 inch striker is automatically being compared to Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and if the former Atalanta man can score even 30 goals next season, he will become one of the darlings at Old Trafford.
Rashford and Garnacho will fight it out for the left winger’s role but after the great season he had previously, it will be Marcus Rashford who will play on that side of attack. This is one area where Erik ten Hag has to be really careful with his team selection because Garnacho has shown that he is ready for the first team so he won’t be willing to spend most of the season warming the benches.
Jadon Sancho prefers to play down the left as well but the England international will have to remain second fiddle to Antony out on the right flank. Sancho needs to revive his career asap and if he cannot get back in form during the first half of the season, there’s a big possibility he will be loaned out in January.
There are also talks of Mason Greenwood coming back and Man United will make an announcement on his future before the 23/24 season begins. If the youngster is coming back then it will help boost United’s attack even further.
Man United predicted line up for the 2023/24 season:
Predicted Starting XI(4-2-3-1): Onana; AWB, Luke Shaw, Martinez, Varane; Casemiro, Eriksen/Mount; Bruno Fernandes; Rashford/Garnacho, Antony/Sancho; Højlund.
