The narrative around Man United has shifted so many times this season that it’s hard to determine what would actually count as success.
Traditionally that would mean winning major trophies, but you could argue that qualifying for the Champions League and winning the FA Cup or the Europa League would be good going.
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We’ve seen Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praised for his signing strategy, criticised for his lack of man management and Ed Woodward will never be a popular figure, but the club seems to be in a good place going forward.
After the win against Man City today, Solskjaer said the following about what is stopping them from challenging for the title:
OGS: “We lack one, two or three players – and experience – to be a title contender.”
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) March 8, 2020
With that in mind, here’s three players who could be signed this Summer that could make that happen:
Jadon Sancho – Borussia Dortmund
The most obvious candidate and someone who appears destined to move this Summer. It sounds like he probably will cost upwards of £100m, but he’s also one of the most exciting young players in Europe. 14 goals and 15 assists in only 23 Bundesliga games is incredible, and he could finally give the team a consistent and obvious talisman up front. Dan James looks pacey and promising but he often makes the wrong decision, that means the opposition can take chances because they know it’s unlikely they will get punished. A front three of Rashford, Sancho and Martial could be devastating, and would also help to relieve the pressure at the other end purely by scaring the other team into being more conservative.
Harry Kane – Spurs
Previously this may have seemed unthinkable, but Spurs are on a downwards trajectory and he’s in danger of having an Alan Shearer-esque career – lot’s of nice individual records but a relatively empty medal drawer. Even if you did think that Mauricio Pochettino had to go, the appointment of Jose Mourinho isn’t working so far, and it seems he’s now into that phase of blaming his players and turning the changing room against him. Kane would finally give them a consistent physical presence up front who can lead and score goals. This might depend on Anthony Martial, but he just goes missing too often to be relied upon, and this would give them something different and needed up front.
Samuel Umtiti – Barcelona
It seems like everyone expected Harry Maguire to come in and be what Virgil van Dijk was to Liverpool, but he needs to have the right kind of player next to him. Victor Lindelof is fine but isn’t good enough at the elite level, and Barcelona don’t seem to find Umtiti to be a big enough name to satisfy the fans right now. His left footedness would instantly give the back-line a nice balance, and he would be able to compensate for Maguire’s weaknesses. You can see the former Leicester man struggles when he lacks someone with pace to cover in behind, but Umtiti would bring that. That could then leave Maguire to organise the defence and look like the calm, composed presence who can bring the ball out and control the game from the back.
It does feel like Solskjaer is right when he says the team isn’t too far away, but these three would give something different in vital positions and it could make a huge difference if they were signed.