Focus on Proven Players as Much as, if Not More Than, Proven Managers
· Yahoo Sports
Unless there’s a collapse of epic proportions, Manchester United look set to qualify for European competition next season. Of course, the aim is to qualify for the Champions League, but even Europa League qualification will go a long way to mitigating the effects of last season. With Casemiro set to leave, and some players expected to be put up for sale, there are plenty of reasons to look at the summer transfer window with optimism.
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For starters, the areas to improve upon in the first team are clear. Midfield is the obvious priority, and there’s little doubt that United will look to strengthen that area. The question then is how they go about it. United have gambled with this position for a long time, either going for players who are more suited to playing in advanced areas or those who have yet to prove themselves.
Many might look at the likes of Casemiro and Nemanja Matic as players who were past their best when they moved to Old Trafford. Their performances often gave some insight into how United were doing: when they showed form, so did United. What they did not have were partners of the quality they were used to at their previous clubs. United also had ample time and money to add someone who could partner them or even take the reins from them in the middle of the park during their time at the club.
Elliot Anderson, who has been heavily linked with a move in the summer, seems an obvious choice and the sort of player who never seemed available or wasn’t on United’s radar to partner the likes of Casemiro and Matic. Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba have also been heavily linked with a move and have Premier League experience, but they don’t run the midfield in the way Anderson has for Forest. In one sense, they have far more to prove than Anderson, which is something one could say of Kobbie Mainoo as well. Adding another player at the same stage of their career won’t inspire confidence.
United could do worse than testing the waters for someone like Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United or Vitinha from Paris Saint-Germain. As is the case with Anderson, convincing the player or the clubs won’t be easy, but this is what the likes of Omar Berrada were hired to do. Besides their quality and experience, they could signal United’s intentions for the season. United can’t use words like transition, rebuild or project going into next season. United have a decent mix of experience and youth in the defensive and forward areas; they need to strike a similar balance in midfield.
Of course, the left wing will need some work, and there’s perhaps a case for experimenting here with a base of consistent performers in Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo to work around. Here, United could look for someone with more specific traits like pace in behind and one-on-one capabilities. What United shouldn’t do is pay over the odds for this player and economise in midfield next season. United have often seemed more eager to pay over the odds for potential when the money could’ve been used for more immediate needs with proven players.
This doesn’t help the younger players either. Every fan would want nothing more than for Benjamin Sesko, Leny Yoro, Senne Lammens, Ayden Heaven, and Kobbie Mainoo to lift silverware with United as important contributors, but high transfer valuations can raise expectations that young players might struggle to live upto in the early years. This, of course, also affects perception. So much of the conversation around United at the moment is regarding proven managers, as it should be, but not enough on how even the most proven of managers will fail without a base of proven players.