With Erik ten Hag, Manchester United finally have a manager they can make strides under to try and get back to the top.
If you then include the addition of players such as Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro into an already talented squad and Ten Hag nearly has a starting XI that can compete with the club's rivals. Many fans hope that in the following transfer windows United will be able to sign the necessary players to complete their team, such as a top-level striker.
This, however, still might not be enough to compete with the likes of Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea in the long term as United still have something important missing.
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Against Nottingham Forest, United were cruising at 2-0 up when their opponents began to wrestle back control of the game. A number of chances followed for Steve Cooper's side and thought they were unable to score it still caused some concerns. Enter Fred.
Since the arrival of Eriksen and Casemiro, the Brazillian midfielder has played a smaller role in this United side, but in his limited minutes he has still shown what an asset he can be to Ten Hag. And during his cameo against Forest he scored to confirm the win.
What City, Chelsea, and to some extent Liverpool have when they are not hampered by injuries is squad depth. Their starting XI is strong but when they need to rotate players or change the game with substitutes, they have quality running through their 26-man squad to pick from.
In City's case, many have even commented that their second XI could win the Premier League.
United need to work on this moving forward in addition to plugging the holes in their current squad. Anthony Martial is playing well under Ten Hag but who is the understudy when he gets injured? Marcus Rashford playing out of position.
And though Aaron Wan-Bissaka has played well in United's last two games, there are still question marks over whether he can be the long-term deputy for Diogo Dalot. These are only a few areas to consider but during a long season, having options to choose from is incredibly important.
United activated the clause that extends Fred's contract for a further year and the performance against Forest showed why. He is good squad depth and when Ten Hag wants to make changes during a game he is a good option to have available.
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