Manchester United are preparing to enter into one of the most important summer transfer windows in the club's modern history. And frankly, who can blame them?
INEOS pair Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford have taken control of the footballing operations at Old Trafford over the last 6 months and changes are expected in abundance.
Manager Erik ten Hag remains uncertain whether he will be in a job and plenty of players face an agonising wait over whether their time in M16 will continue or slowly come to a close. United need to strengthen in six key areas, a hefty fix. But here, FourFourTwo analyses the right players to return the Red Devils to the big time...
Manchester United's summer signings 1. A right-back
What better place to begin than with Manchester United's need to improve on the ever-failing combination of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot? It just has not worked out, has it?
On their day, both are decent-level right-backs, who possess individual qualities that make them different to each other in so many ways. Dalot is a superb ball carrier but lacks defensive positioning. Wan-Bissaka is a phenomenal one-on-one defender but is weak both in the air and positionally. One will almost certainly leave this summer, however, with rumours persisting that AWB could be off for a fraction of the £50m spent on him.
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you an improvement in Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen. Having grown up in Manchester with local rivals City, the Netherlands international is strong, extremely quick, brilliant in attacking areas and is one of the best ball-carriers on the continent.
His introduction would make Ten Hag's life so much easier both in and out of possession and United should do all they can to bring him in this summer. Period.
2. A new centre-back
With the futures of Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane relatively unclear, bringing in the heavily-linked Jarrad Branthwaite from Everton would be another smart piece of business this summer from an INEOS viewpoint.
At 6'5, the Carlisle-born defender is terrific in the air and dominates strikers in behind. Having been a standout performer for Sean Dyche's side so far this season, the England international would be a ready-made improvement on Harry Maguire.
He ranks in the 88th percentile for aerial duels won this season and has even scored twice, proving he could be a target from setpieces should Ten Hag finally figure out how to best utilise United's best threats.
3. A new left-back
Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia have both been out of action for most of the 2023/24 season, leaving Ten Hag with something of a headache defensively.
We've seen Lindelof, Dalot and Wan-Bissaka all fill in and it seems, according to recent reports, that left-back is another area in which the Red Devils will aim to target come the summer months. Wolves defender Rayan Aït-Nouri has been exceptional so far for Gary O'Neil's side and in our opinion, earns a shot with one of the Premier League's big-hitters.
Phenomenal at getting forward and flexible anywhere in the left channels, the Algerian international is brilliant in build-up play and is another super ball carrier.
4. A new centre midfielder
When we talk about generational talents, Benfica star Joao Neves instantly jumps out at you. And the best part is, he is only 19.
Kobbie Mainoo needs a midfield partner and what better way to hand him a perfect present than to give him Benfica's next big thing to play alongside for the next 10 years at Old Trafford.
With an engine that could seemingly go for days, Neves' passing, vision, aggression and stamina make him one of the hottest prospects in Europe at present and United would be foolish not to make him their natural replacement for the ageing Casemiro.
5. A new right-winger
Everybody knows how good Michael Olise can be and at Crystal Palace, his talents are merely limited to those around him.
But in a potential team containing Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojliund and Mason Mount, the fluid winger would become something of a menace over on the right in no time. A silky footballer who has a keen eye for goal, Ten Hag isn't usually a fan of tall players out wide as we have seen with Antony, Garnacho, Jadon Sancho and Facundo Pellistri.
But it is time for the Red Devils to unlock Olise and his true potential, and a summer move to the Theatre of Dreams could kickstart the 22-year-old's career into action for good.
6. A back-up striker
Rasmus Hojlund has quickly demonstrated during his debut season in England that in time, the Dane will become one of the best in the world.
Well, at least very close, but he needs some help and that is clearly not going to come from the never-seen always-injured Anthony Martial, who looks set to leave Old Trafford in June.
Joshua Zirkzee would be a tailor-made number two to help Rasmus out and with 11 goals and 6 assists already to his name this season, the Dutch forward is showing his capabilities already on the big stage.
Bayern Munich are thought to hold the key to the 22-year-old's future with a scary-looking buyback clause in his Bologna's contract, but Ten Hag's powers of negotiations should be well spent on bringing the exciting forward to help shift some weight from Hojlund.
How Manchester United will look next season
We have our picks, of course, but by and large, this is how the United squad will look next season barring any ales that haven't been rumoured as yet. With six new signings coming in, Ratcliffe might have to get creative with how he allocates funds…
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