MUFC have had to improve many areas of their team for so many years, it's hard to keep up. This transfer window was/is no different as areas such as striker, goalkeeper, midfield and wing-back require better players.
That reminds me of when Moyes said United need to improve "in a number of areas, including passing, creating chances and defending."
That is pretty much everything.
12 years later, and that is still true. The reason for this is because the club has bought badly over that time and haven't sold well enough to remove all those who aren't at the level required for us to actually get better.
This brings me back to the current transfer window.
I'm not saying that we've bought the wrong players or the deals themselves have been bad but have they been in the right positions?
The business that's been done
So far, United have signed Diego Leon, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, all top players, all with top talents and all with the ability to make us better but were these the positions where we needed to improve more than others?
I don't think we even needed another no 10 let alone two although with our lack of creativity and reliability on Bruno, perhaps one would've done. While Leon has shown promise on tour, he is only 18 years old and is a traditional left-back. What is needed in this 3-4-3 formation are wing-backs.
I spoke about why these roles should've been more of a priority here, so I won't go into too much detail but after such a post, wing-backs HAD to be right up there as top priorities. They are key to a lot of how this system can be successful.
With Ruben Amorim banking on captain Bruno Fernandes to be his main man in midfield, he would need the ideal partner so as to get the best out of him in a position where he isn't necessarily suited given his attributes, but also a partner who is capable of holding down the fort whenever the skipper goes wandering forward or out of position.
Bruno is no true no 8 (in my opinion) and as he is undisciplined in positioning, he leaves his partner isolated. As that partner isn't prime Casemiro, it means that they will get overrun and expose our defense. This is why a strong CDM partner is necessary.
Ugarte has shown signs of being that partner and I do believe he is the better holding midfield option than anyone else, but he too can be inconsistent. Partnering him with Bruno leads to disaster in midfield more often than not.
Mainoo is struggling both with his own performances and where he best fits into this lineup. Is he a no 8? Is he a no 10? Can we afford to have a player of his quality on the bench? I don't think he even works in this formation.
And as per this pre-season, we've all been made more aware of just how weak we are in the centre of the park. Midfield wasn't a top priority position to improve before the new campaign but it certainly is now, for the fans at least. As I said, the manager seems content with what he has as there's more talk of strikers and goalkeepers than midfield reinforcements.
Top priorities still haven't been fulfilled
Speaking of striker, Benjamin Sesko as per this afternoon, David Ornstein said that United have offered €75m + €10m for the Leipzig man with the club believing he favours a move to Old Trafford. So, it appears that MUFC may be one step closer to bringing in a new no 9.
We do need to improve that position but again, going back to pre-season, I didn't really see us create too many clear-cut opportunities and even fewer were for the striker. What's the point in having Sesko or anyone else if the team still don't create?
This is where Mbeumo and Cunha can come in. These were two of the better no 10s in the league last season assisting 13 times between them in the PL. They will no doubt improve that creativity problem but we need more than them to create. The two of them also have the ability to play up top but that wasn't why they were bought. If they were, then why are we looking for a striker?
Bruno is still there but as he is deeper, will he be as effectual in the final third compared to when he plays as an attacking midfielder?
You could throw Amad into this as well. Many want to see him play as the RWB and he was a standout in that position in the draw versus Everton, whilst he played there. However, Amad isn't the best defensively nor is he the strongest player out there. I feel we get the best out of him as a no 10.
Mount is another option and so is Zirkzee. Both appear better in the attacking midfield than any other position.
Did we need both Cunha AND Mbeumo?
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How does everyone feel heading into a new campaign with Onana in goal? Most (if not all) supporters have little and less confidence in a 'keeper who has made quite a few cock ups over his two years at the club.
It's a position that worries us because even if the rest of the team was perfect, even if we created opportunities and scored goals, there is still the chance that Onana will make a mistake and cost us.
The defeat to Brighton last season is a good example of this. United were crap and were already losing but being a goal down with a roaring Old Trafford behind you, even a crap side can do something incredible. Onana's mishandling of a simple cross all but ended United's hopes of salvaging anything from what was one of many forgetful matches of last season.
Onana has had several of these type of shocking gaffs resulting in dropped points or defeats. He was mainly at fault for us not getting out of the group stage of the 23/24 Champions League due to countless errors.
Bayindir isn't the best backup either meaning that he won't truly challenge United's no 1. Both goalies need to be replaced or one has to be the no 2 with another top shot-stopper coming in.
Both ends of the pitch are a massive issue for Amorim yet he and the club have felt it's best to sign two no 10s. While they are superb players, were they truly what we needed, or at least what we needed first?
Late deals
Mbeumo was signed late to a point where he couldn't feature in two of those Summer Series games over in the USA and only played 45 minutes of the draw with Everton.
This indicates the other issue with the transfer window: time taken to do deals.
Mbeumo's took over 6 weeks to complete resulting in him not playing as much as many would've liked. I'm unsure whether he'll even be ready for Arsenal in just under two weeks.
Just as a side note, can you believe we are BACK in less than two weeks?! I know we suck and have much to improve upon but boy do I love United and football to a point where I don't even care. I miss it when it's gone. Glad we've almost returned 🙌.
Back to the post and with the time it took to sign a player who wanted to join us (Mbeumo), what's going to happen with one who has a couple of options? As we know, Sesko has the choice of United or Newcastle which makes this potential transfer even harder. Whenever MUFC come up against tough opposition in the window, we usually finish second.
Newcastle also have the money whereas we might not. Again, that price from Leipzig is €80m. Can United cough up such a fee?
We've also been linked with Sesko for a few weeks now. It was the 22 year old along with Ollie Watkins as the two more recent choices after many of the top targets went elsewhere.
I do prefer Watkins and here's why, so I would be happy if we ended up with the Villa man instead.
But this shows that we don't hold the cards in this deal. Ideally, you would want to be the one to call the shots rather than wait for others. If we have to depend on others' decisions to help make our mind up, this is another factor that could cause delays in transfers.
If Sesko or any other player joined, will they even be ready for the start of the season? I don't even think Amorim will pick Mbeumo in that XI against Arsenal. I feel like he'll come off the bench instead. That will frustrate all and could make a difference if that is to be the case.
Final Thoughts
So to recap this window, we've signed three players in positions that most would've said weren't a top priority, we haven't strengthened in the areas that were, we've taken too long on transfers jeopardising the start of the campaign and season overall, and we haven't even sold anyone. These sales would also help in trying to sign players.
Do you think that Amorim has prioritized wrongly? Or was it the club who couldn't sign the top priority positions first?
Or are they all just wrong?
Matheus Cunha and Ruben Amorim | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)