Manchester United 2019/20 Squad Analysis and Transfer Targets 

Manchester United finished the season in a disappointing 6th position. After a tumultuous first half of the season, Ed Woodward got rid of serial winner Jose Mourinho and brought in club legend Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer. This saw an uplift in form and performances with the highlight been an oustanding UEFA Champions League away game vs PSG in which the team came back from a 2-0 deficit in the first leg to win 3-1 at Parc de Princes. However, it seems the old problems which led to the sacking of Jose Mourinho have resurfaced leading fans and pundits to speculate that the upturn in form was only due to a managerial change and the underlying root causes remain.

One thing that is clear to anyone is that there is a need for a proper football operations person to handle the daily football, scouting and transfer operations at the club. Ed Woodward has been brilliant for the commercial side of the club however the decision making  on football matters has left fans and observed bewildered. Offering new contracts to Jones, Smalling and Young, letting Herrera  run down his contract, backing players such Pogba and Martial over the Manager are some of the bizzare events witnessed in 2018/19 season.

Manchester United are hurting and would be looking to return to the top of English football as soon as possible. Solksjaer has stated that the immediate priority would be getting into the top 4 and later down many transfer windows hope to be able to challenge City and Liverpool for the title.

CURRENT SQUAD

Let’s take a deep dive at the current squad, returnees from loan and possible outgoings.

Returning Loanees

The following players are returning to the first team squad after a loan spell with mixed results. Axel Tuanzebe had the most successful loan spell winning the championship play off final with Aston Villa however it would probably be in his own interest and the club if he continues his development elsewhere, probably with Aston Villa in the Premier League, rather than sitting on the bench.

    Axel Tuanzebe (returning from Aston Villa; Championship Playoff Winner)

 Cameron Bortwick Jackson (returning from Scunthorpe United)

 Timothy Fosu Mensah (returning from Fulham, relegated from the Premier League)

 Joel Perriera (returning from KV Kortrijk) 

Expiring Contracts 

The following player’s contracts run out at the end of the season. Herrera has already confirmed he will be joining PSG while Valencia is mooted to be looking to move to the MLS in America. The fans retain some hope that an agreement could be reached with Juan Mata to extend his contract at the club. Newcastle are rumoured to be waiting in the wings to sign him if Rafa Benitez extends his stay at the club.

  Antonio Valencia (Right Back, 33 years, released)

 Juan Mata (Attacking Midfielder, 31 years)

 Ander Herrera (Central Midfielder, 29 years, departing for PSG)

Speculation

Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and David De Gea are rumoured to be looking to leave the club for Madrid, Inter Milan and PSG respectively. 

The big wages given to Sanchez seems to have caused rumbling in the dressing room given his lacklustre contribution and has led to a problem renegotiating contracts with other players.

Squad breakdown by Position

If United are able to keep a hold of their establish stars such as De Gea, Pogba and Lukaku, then analysis suggests five players will be required to start off the rebuilding job.

However, should they lose those established stars , then the rebuilding job gets bigger.

TRANSFER TARGETS OPTIONS

Right Back

Thomas Meunier

Aaron Wan Bissaka

Other Targets includes: Matt Doherty (Wolves) ; Ricardo Perriera (Leicester City)

Centre Backs 

Harry Maguire 

Toby Aldwerield

Kalidou Koulibaly 

Other Targets includes: Michael Keane (Everton) , Conor Coady (Wolves) 

Central Midfielder 

Ruben Neves 

Andre Gomes

Other Targets includes: Adrien Rabiot (PSG)

Attacking Midfielder

Gareth Bale 

Nicolas Pepe

Other Targets includes:

Preferred Targets are

Maguire£65M

Aldewerield £25M

Meunier £25M

Neves £50M

Bale  (exchange for Sanchez or loan deal with Madrid)

TOTAL: £165M

UNCERTAINTY

However should any of the key players under transfer speculation depart, then the following would be suitable targets.

Striker

To replace Romelu Lukaku

Callum Wilson

Attacking Midfielder 

To replace Juan Mata

James Maddison 

David Brooks 

Central Midfielder

To replace Paul Pogba

Sergej Milinković-Savić

Abdoulaye Doucoure

Goalkeeper

There is news filtering out that Romero will be promoted to No 1 and the returning Perriera will act as No 2 so there may be no need to go spend a fortune on a new Goalkeeper. This looks like a position they would look to assess over the course of a season and visit the transfer window in 2020/21 if they need to.

To replace David Dea (in 2020/21)

Targets: Gianluigi Donnarumma 

Supplementary Targets are

Wilson £50M

Maddison £60M

Milinkovic- Savic £60M

TOTAL: £170M

SUMMARY

While it is imperative that United bring in the right players this summer it seems even more important that they bring in a football operator to oversee the rebuild. The window within which to get this right is closing, hopefully they get it right.

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