Manchester United’s second summer tour under Louis Van Gaal has seen the Dutchman unveil his true character in full swing. From ordering Ed Woodward to complete Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger transfers by the beginning of the tour to wielding the axe for Valdes who was told he does not gel with the philosophy. The Iron Tulip’s presence has certainly been felt.
There is still transfer business to be done, reportedly Van Gaal is after a centre back, striker and a possible new goalkeeper as David de Gea’s future is waiting to unfold. With the season starting in less than a week, I will try to summarise the things we should be looking for during the season – new signings, youngsters and tactics.
Luke Shaw:
The young left back played only 18 times during injury plagued debut season. Many rushed to label him as an expensive flop and waste of money, as we could have kept Patrice Evra. However looking at the things from a broader perspective Shaw is only 20 years young, moving out of his parent’s home and leaving friends and family behind. His support system was thrashed and suddenly he was in a place where he was told he is unfit to play and had to fight for his place.
He had his moments last year, especially against Chelsea. With Morgan Schneiderlin coming in whom he knows from his Saints days, he also seems to be good friends with Memphis Depay as well, his support system may be rebuilt. After a prolonged period to recover and prepare for the new season, I expect him to be very motivated to prove a few people wrong. He was turning heads and braking ankles during the summer tour and everything is set for him to produce the goods this season and establish himself.
Youngsters:
Pereira, Blackett, Mcnair, Lingard, Wilson, Januzaj- some of them may be going out on loan, others permanently (Lingard – Bristol City). Pereira made the most of his appearances during the Tour, impressing both behind the striker and on the wings. It seems like that he will be given the chance to impress and I do believe he can be the breakout player this season.
Januzaj – I think he and Wilson will both benefit more from a loan than staying at the outskirts of a first team action. However shortage of optionS both up front and on the wings could mean they’ll have to stay on the fringes of things. The eventual signing of Pedro could mean one among Januzaj and Pereira will be going out on loan and my money is on Adnan to do so. He needs regular game time, preferably in the Premier League, where he could establish himself and show that he deserves place at United.
Blackett/McNair- There were rumours about the signing of John Stones. I do not see him being that dominant experienced centre-back we need so badly. I think that unless we sign Ramos, we will not be adding a defender and Louis van Gaal will continue with one of Blind and Rojo, partnering Smalling or Jones. If both McNair and Blackett stay at the club this will mean we have a total of six central defenders, which will probably be one too many. McNair is seen as the more first-team ready, so I do expect him to be shipped out on loan to continue his development while he is not good enough for a starting spot. Hull is a possible destination and he should be able to improve under Bruce’s guidance.
Tactics:
Van Gaal has proclaimed that the team shall be playing 4-3-3, with one of the midfielders playing in a more advanced role. I could see us starting against Tottenham similarly to how we finished last season with Depay playing the role of Feillani but more in a more attacking fashion. This is how we played in all of our friendlies, and Memphis Depay did not look out of place.
There are so many possible scenarios for the midfield area. One might say that we should have gotten only one between Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, but we lacked both defensive grit and a talented deep-lying playmaker when Michael Carrick was out injured. Bastian Schweinsteiger fits the bill as he would bring the much needed “Scholes-like” appearance to our team. Schneiderlin on the other hand is more of an enforcer and I can see us playing with all of them in more tight games with Depay being pushed to the wings. Herrera is different from all of the already mentioned being a typical box-to-box runner and could compliment any of them.
In short Van Gaal does have options and rotation should be expected with CL qualification and cups on the horizon.
What are your thoughts on the season ahead? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
please think to add striker to the club because we may face achallenge in near future.