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After a busy summer for Manchester United, signing five new stars, The Red Devils are already looking at their plans for next summer.
Already Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui are establishing themselves in the starting lineup, with Mazraoui starting as right-back in all three of United’s Premier League games so far. Whilst de Ligt has featured in all three games, his first start came at home to Liverpool at Old Trafford before the international break.
Much like de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee has featured in all three, only starting against Liverpool, however, has already grabbed his first goal for United on his debut coming off the bench to score past Fulham to grab a 1-0 win.
Unfortunately for Leny Yoro, an injury in the pre-season has ruled him out until at least November, having undergone surgery on his metatarsal. As for the latest signing Manuel Ugarte, we could see his debut come against Southampton in United’s first game back after the break.
However, Dan Ashworth and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are very aware of signings they missed out on and upcoming contract expiries which will need to be covered.
Next summer will see Victor Lindelof leave for free, with the centre-back eligible to negotiate with other clubs directly in the January transfer window. Fellow centre-back Jonny Evans is expected to hang up his boots at the end of this season at the age of 36, and the club aren’t sure yet whether they want to extend Harry Maguire’s contract by an extra twelve months or to see him leave the club with Lindelöf.
This means that United have a real risk of losing three centre-backs next summer which would leave them with Yoro, de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez, meaning a least one other centre-back is vital.
To fill this gap, The Red Devils are continuing to monitor their missed man, Jarrad Branthwaite. Despite multiple bids for the Englishman, Everton deemed his price tag much higher than what United were willing to offer. United’s highest bid for £50 million was rejected, with The Toffees wanting upwards of £70 million.
The next area of concern is midfield. Whilst United signed Ugarte, they also wanted to offload Casemiro and Christian Eriksen with Eriksen’s contract ending next summer, and Casemiro’s performances significantly declining. Whilst United have found a young gem in Toby Collyer, another midfield signing wouldn’t hurt. The Red Devils are continuing to track Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, with the 26-year-old having a release clause of £68 million which could be activated next summer.
Then we have the wingers. Whilst Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho are showing immense promise, United only have Marcus Rashford and Antony as their alternate options, making this position a vital signing next summer, if not before.
Finally is a position that United were looking for this summer, however didn’t make any signings to, left-back. With Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia experiencing significant injuries last season, United were expected to sign a natural left-back rather than having to rely on Diogo Dalot. Unfortunately, this never happened despite being linked with several potentials, so it’s highly likely that this will be made a priority next summer.
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