Man Utd were knocked out of the FA Cup on Friday to Middlesborough in a penalty shootout.
In the January transfer window Man Utd did not bring in a single transfer. A head scratcher at the very minimum, and a failure in many peoples eyes given their lack of depth in the middle of the pitch.
Man Utd’s window consisted of letting Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek leave on loan, Martial looks primed to stay at Sevilla. While United lend Everton a midfielder player that could be useful incase of injuries, but the return of Paul Pogba softens that blow.
Rivals fighting for that fourth spot did some maneuvering.
Tottenham signed Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus but sold and loaned a few high salary players to fund those moves. Tottenham are currently two points behind Man Utd with two games at hand.
Arsenal trimmed their squad and got rid of distractions while bringing in a couple of long term projects from America with Matt Turner and Auston Trusty.
To be fair to Man Utd not many teams at the top did much in the window. Mid-table and relegation battling clubs made most of the noise. Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa dominated the headlines.
Man Utd’s Midfield
Man Utd, in my opinion, need another workhorse in the midfield. United need someone who is going to run hard, non-stop and being a menace. They need some fresh and ready to work hard. Someone that is humble and wants to work for a club giving him a shot.
Someone like N’golo Kante. Obviously, that is extremely hard to do, but there were players out there that fit that mold.
Never exactly like Kante, but players willing to work hard, something that has been missing from a side ranked near the bottom of the league in terms of tackles won and interceptions. A team that has been criticized for their work rate.
Two years ago Juventus brought in Weston McKennie from Schalke for a loan with an option to buy at around €20mil. Juventus picked up the option in the summer. McKennie is a hard working box-to-box midfielder who slots in well with talented attackers around him, like Ronaldo.
McKennie is currently valued at €27.5mil according to Transefrmrkt. Tottenham were linked with American for €35mil, probably too high for the 22-year-old.
McKennie is an example of Man Utd missing on potential midfielders. The signings in the summer were needed, but it is hard to believe that Man Utd do not have €20mil for a midfielder.
A loan with an option to buy? Why not?
If the money is not available until this summer might as well bring the player in and get a look at him. If you do not like him, use the money towards someone else.
Juventus paid Borussia Monchanegladbach a few million quid for Denis Zakaria, a player that announced he was going to leave in the summer from the German club when his contract expired in the summer. Juve payed a small price to get him now, good business.
Savvy business moves have become less frequent at Old Trafford.
When Ralf Rangnick was hired by Man Utd it came with him being a consultant for a couple of years after him being caretaker manager. Rangnick has said there is something missing in the middle.
Ed Woodward finally leaving is a good sign, but it still looks bleak at Old Trafford.
