Manchester United brought in three major transfers this summer and those deals should see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men challenging for the Premier League title this season!

All three new signings will definitely add a significant amount to the Man United squad.

The fairytale story is obviously the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford.

The Portuguese international rose to stardom at United before reaching superstardom at Real Madrid. He’s now, alongside Lionel Messi, the greatest footballer on the planet.

As a player Ronaldo returns as a different footballing animal. He’s no longer a pacey, creative and devastating winger. He has evolved into an extremely prolific number nine.

Looking at the figures from last term, United could be doing with a free scoring forward. Attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes ended up as The Red Devils top scorer in the league with eighteen goals. The top scoring forward was Marcus Rashford with only eleven strikes. In total, United scored ten less than last term’s Premier League champions Manchester City.

During Cristiano’s last twelve months at Juventus, he struck twenty-nine times in thirty-one Serie A appearances. He may be thirty-six years of age but Ronaldo has shown no slowing down in terms of finding the net.

Even this week he once again proved he just can’t be stopped from getting those vital goals:

Ronaldo's stoppage time winner ??pic.twitter.com/SKCc6MFctb

— Sky Sports (@SkySports) September 1, 2021

I honestly can’t think of a forward that is as intelligent, focused and as fit as Ronaldo. That’s why his career hasn’t dipped away like so any others even in his mid-thirties. He knows to stick to certain positions and he knows when to get away from his markers.

The veteran is very keen to hit the ground running and rekindle his special relationship with Man United’s fans:

“I know they still sing my music which has made me feel even more happy and my commitment is to give everything on the pitch, like I did before, like I do it all the time, and try to do my best, help the team score goals, make assists, win games, and I hope to see them very, very soon.”

Source – ManUtd.com

Obviously a goalscorer can only be as good as those around him that are creating his chances.

That’s where fellow summer signing Jadon Sancho comes in.

The England international should come in and add a new threat on United’s righthand side, a problem position Man Utd have had in recent seasons.

In the last two terms for Borussia Dortmund, Jadon has recorded twenty-seven assists in 58 Bundesliga fixtures.

Sancho loves attacking defences. Last season; he completed around 3 dribbles per game and made 2.6 key passes too. He has the pace, the nifty foot work and skills to beat opposition defenders (Stats from Whoscored). As his goals and assist stats show, he’s very effective in the final third.

Once Jadon Sancho settles into the Man United way; then the likes of Ronaldo, Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani will relish playing alongside a man with the supply qualities that the twenty-one year old possesses.

Now another big issue United have had has been in the centre of their defence.

Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof have always been an adequate partnership but that’s not good enough to secure titles and trophies.

By bringing in Raphael Varane, The Red Devils have brought in on the world’s best centre-backs.

His pace, his high concentration levels and his consistency should make those in the backline better by just playing alongside him.

The World Cup winner should in particular form a fine partnership beside Maguire in the heart of defence. United have missed having a top class central defensive pairing since the days of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Again United were behind City in goals conceded last year, Varian’s signing could change that particular stat.

Another key element that both Ronaldo and Varane will bring to this Manchester United team is a massive winning mentality. These two players are born winners and they have the medals to prove it. That should see Solskjaer seeing his other players raise their standards to meet those that have just arrived.

Now while these are three super signings, Man United still have issues that need to be looked at.

In goal, David De Gea has looked good again but he has been shaky for a few seasons now and he has Dean Henderson breathing down his neck. It will be interesting to see who will be the number one keeper throughout this term.

In midfield, United also need to find out who will be able to help protect the defence. Questions surround Nemanja Matic’s legs and whether he can last a full campaign. Fred for me isn’t the answer. The Brazilian is decent but he doesn’t do enough to be as impactful as what you’d like from an elite team.

For me, I’d say Scott McTominay is the best option as he is mobile and hard working. Although I’d like to see if Lindelof could be deployed in that role. The Swede is good on the ball and he has a nose for cutting out danger.

But no matter what, Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now have a much stronger squad and one that really should be challenging for major honours come next summer.

Posted on September 3rd, 2021 by scott
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