As has been significantly discussed already, Manchester United are set to have a very busy summer transfer window. Following the loss at FC Barcelona on Tuesday, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lamented just how much rebuilding United need to do in order to get back among Europe/the world’s elite.
The good news is that United, as a club, are essentially printing money right now, so a transfer war chest to work with should not be an issue; at all. There is a whole lot of bad news though. First, there is a ton of work to do, as even Solskjaer himself said this rebuild could take some time.
Secondly, there will be more roster defections than usual this summer, and thus, more holes to potentially fill. Thirdly and finally, the club currently sits sixth in the table, and are in real danger of missing out on the top four/UEFA Champions League qualification.
Missing out on the UCL will hinder player recruiting efforts.
However, according to a new report in ESPN today, Solskjaer “will be backed with significant funds during the summer transfer window and will also be allowed to spend any cash generated by player sales.”
Typically, United do almost all of their buying in the summer, and they usually bring in three of four players. However, with so much potential turnover this summer, United will likely be acquiring more players than in a typical summer. Expect reinforcements in all three position groups, with additional beefing up of the back line.
Obviously, central defense is the biggest area of need, and has been for quite a few years now.
The ESPN FC report identifies six potential targets, stating that
United usually work towards a plan of signing three players during the summer but with more players than usual expected to leave, Solskjaer is set to get special dispensation to bring in more targets.
There is interest in Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane, Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez as well as young English trio Declan Rice, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jadon Sancho.
Other targets to consider include Barcelona central defender Samuel Umtiti, and even a potential return of winger Memphis Depay, who seems to have found himself again at Lyon.
In terms of the inevitable clear out, it appears that could start with midfielder Ander Herrera who is reportedly inching closer towards joining Paris Saint-Germain. Club captain Antonio Valencia has now fallen out of favor and reports indicate that he’s near the top of the exit list too.
Striker Romelu Lukaku has openly pined for a move to Italy, having lost his status as the first choice at his position in the lineup. Winger Alexis Sanchez has been a tremendous bust, and his future with the club is very much in question. Matteo Darmian, Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo are likely to be put on the trading block as well.
If the contract stalemate with Juan Mata continues, he’ll hit the open transfer market come July.
In other words, expect a whole lot of transfer window headlines to be coming and going out of Old Trafford this summer. There will be plenty of official goodbye social media posts and photos of guys holding up kits and pens over contracts.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.