Guardian writers’ predicted position: 5th (NB: this is not necessarily Jamie Jackson’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) The information at the start of the close season was that Manchester United planned to trade for bargains rather than elite names and the major purchases so far this summer prove this to indeed be the case. Youri Tielemans is a 29-year-old who has been a professional for nearly half of his life and was bought, with no competition, for his £35m release clause from Aston Villa. The midfielder was followed by the £48m (+£2m) purchase of Andrey Santos, a 22-year-old with 11 league starts last season for Chelsea.
The Brazilian states a preference for operating “deep, like a No 6” making him the direct replacement for his compatriot Casemiro, whose CV includes five Champions Leagues. United are also set to sign another midfielder in Carlos Baleba from Brighton for around £75m. Michael Carrick, going in to his first full season in charge, admits his squad needs more additions and a new left-back is on the radar.
Lewis Hall is the prime target but Newcastle’s resistance to a sale means Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly had drawn interest. At the window’s commencement, Carrick wanted Elliot Anderson but this was unrealistic – he went to City for around £32m more than Tielemans’ and Santos’s combined fee. Confirmed as manager in May after guiding United to third, Carrick may rue Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s reluctance to invest the finances he generated by taking the club back into the Champions League and the 45-year-old may find himself engulfed in precisely what has plagued all of his predecessors in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era: a crisis of performances and results.
Carrick also has to wrestle with the Marcus Rashford situation: the forward wants to leave, the club desires him off the wage bill, but can a suitor be found before 1 September? Oh and, Lisandro Martínez and Matthijs De Ligt, two frontline centre-backs, have only recently returned from injury. In early July United unveiled plans for their proposed new 100,000-seater stadium, located about 350 metres north-west of Old Trafford, insisting this is a “sanity, not vanity project”.
Behind the catchy line, however, is a club in the red to the sum of £1.3bn. Omar Berrada, United’s chief executive, declared in March that £2bn was the working cost of the stadium, which is projected to be completed in 2035. This seems optimistic – try doubling it, maybe.
Untrusting, unhappy, annoyed, betrayed, toxic, broken, unmendable, etcetera: choose your pejorative when it comes to describing how most Manchester United fans feel about the Glazers. This has been the case regarding the six siblings, who are United’s majority owners, since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club in May 2013. Relations between fans and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s football department could also be rosier.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
