Manchester United

[Don Giovanni]

Hard to believe Leicester, who were 14 points ahead of United before the pandemic shut everything down, are out of a UCL place. United disappointed with a draw against West Ham, but came out deserved winners in their "play-off" against Leicester on Sunday. Leicester were missing 6 players and arguably the loss of Caglar had hurt them the most.

The decision to sign Fernandes has proven to be a the turning point. Fernandes wasn't quite as sharp on the day. He struggled to spot the pass and had trouble connecting on chances, but it was his pass that led to the penalty and it was he who put it away. That goal made all the difference and Lingard then made it safe. I don't think United would have gotten a UCL place without Fernandes.

Pogba has his swagger back. Having Fernandes in there has made things much easier for him and given him room to breathe. Matic too takes some of that burden off. United are playing very smooth football and look great on the ball. It will be hard for McTominay and Fred to return into the eleven at this rate.

I still think United need a couple of signings to get back in the kind of pomp that would allow them to win the EPL again. In particular, de Gea is no longer guaranteed to remain United's first choice in goal. Finding another keeper might be United's biggest priority in the summer.

I also think United need better wing-backs. Robertson and Alexander-Arnold are big part of Liverpool's success. Wan Bissaka is great, but there is talk that he should play as a CB and I agree with that assessment. Two quality wing-backs or at least a quality left-back might be the final piece of the puzzle.

[Dikefale11]

A CB, like Chelsea, is definitely needed. Not many top top quality available however. Van Dijk made all the difference at Liverpool.

[Don Giovanni]

It will be hard to find another van Dijk and now that they signed Maguire it seems they're now stuck. Koulibaly is one player that might fit the bill.

Luke Shaw and Wan Bissaka are good players. I would like to see United sign Trippier. He grew up in Manchester and his family are reds. I'd go Wan Bissaka in the middle partly for that reason, but also I'm not impressed with Wan Bissaka's combination play and he's not a great crosser like Trippier. At left-back Ben Chilwell of Leicester is someone else they should get too. Luke Shaw is not at his level. If those players end up at City or Chelsea, United will grow to regret losing out on them.

Lots of talk they'll sign Jadon Sancho or maybe Grealish. It's clear Sancho is someone who could improve United's attack, but with Greenwood, Rashford, Martial, James, Lingard, and Fernandes they look really good already. Now that United have Fernandes, Grealish would be competing with him for a place most likely.

[Don Giovanni]

I think United were lucky to beat Copenhagen, but they were the vastly superior despite needing another penalty to win.

A big bravo to Zeca for getting this far. He gave a great account of himself and deserves more recognition in Greece for what he managed to accomplish this season. I wouldn't be impartial in naming him or Tsimikas this season's finest Greek player.

[Don Giovanni]

I see reports that the Sancho deal is dead. No doubt had he signed United would be better for it, but they're not exactly dying up front now considering the options they have.

United have now turned their attentions to signing a CB. Koulibaly looks to be top of that list. I think United should just stick Maguire with Wan-Bissaka in the middle. He would be great alongside Maguire making recovery tackles, but he's not a great wing-back. Same goes for Luke Shaw, United's preferred left-back:



Luke Shaw is the lowest name on the graph. They should focus their resources on signing Chilwell, Trippier, and perhaps most importantly a new keeper.

[Dikefale11]

I dont think De Gea is that bad, sure a few blunders here and there but he has done more good than bad. Definitely more important issues of concern in the team. CB for sure.

[Don Giovanni]

De Gea has proven his incredible class in the past, but his star has faded in recent years. Not just for United, but for Spain too where Enrique has favored Kepa, at least that was the case until Kepa himself fell out of favor at Chelsea. His focus and desire aren't the same anymore. He lends the impression that he has had his fill and he'd rather be doing something else than deal with the pressure that comes with his job. Perhaps it's just a question of rejuvenating that desire and focus, and gaining back the confidence.

Romero was always going to be a backup and any attempt to play Romero ahead would have driven De Gea out the door. Romero simply isn't as talented as De Gea and at 33 the candle burns less brightly. There are murmurs Romero may leave. Bielsa is fond of him and he could make his way to Leeds, but whose to say Bielsa will last at Leeds. He's a notoriously fickle manager. Romero may leave so that too could force United to look at options.

Henderson might be that option, but Henderson is not the finished product and he prefers to stay at Sheffield where he is guaranteed to play.

Realistically, either United stick it out with their investment in Henderson or step up their interests in Kasper Schmeichel.

As far as center-backs go, United will probably miss out on Koulibaly. I don't think they will find a better defender on the market and there is a real danger he will sign for City. Given Bailly's past injury problems, he's likelier to operate as a backup. Wan-Bissaka is more reliable and shares a lot of similarities to Bailly. I think either or would compliment Maguire well mostly due to their exceptional recovery play. Lindelof looks more appropriate in rotation or as a backup to Maguire.

If United fail to sign a quality CB this summer, I don't think it will be a major loss assuming they use Wan-Bissaka as a CB. But for that to happen, United need to sign a right-back. Personally, I'd rather they did that and spent the money on Trippier, who has been wonderful for England when given the chance to shine and he's done exceedingly well at Atletico, not to mention he's a Mancunian through and through. He's arguably better than Alexander-Arnold right now, but Trenton will get better with age.

[Don Giovanni]

They're out of the Europa League after a humbling loss to Sevilla, the kings of the Europa League with five titles going on possibly six. Lindelof and Wan-Bissaka made a mess of it on Sevilla's winner. There was no clarity between the two on who would mark the striker. I believe Lindelof needed to show more leadership. Williams was not positioned well enough on the first goal, but Sevilla were lucky to have the throw-in go their way when initiating the attack. That really should have been a throw-in for United.

United are gifted too many penalties. This I didn't not feel was a penalty. The defender did come in late with his studs, but I don't believe he followed through enough on the tackle to really hurt Rashford and warrant a red, something I felt the referee at least got right. The challenge looked nastier than it really was. Moreover, play was allowed to continue and United only had themselves to blame for failing to score after Rashford played the ball. If advantaged was played, then why was United allowed a penalty? The defender may have come in late with a poorly executed tackle, but letting VAR do it's thing isn't an excuse for United to get two cracks at goal. I mean if Fernandes had scored when the play was still alive, there's no way the referee would have disallowed the goal and then have awarded a penalty. The goal would have stood and in that sense the penalty should not have been called.

United are looking back at their best on the ball. They really slow the game down inside the penalty area to work out openings, which is refreshing given how teams are constantly trying to exploit open spaces rather than rely on their creativity to create space. It's a real joy to watch, but the number of penalties United are awarded is ridiculous. United need to stop trying to walk the ball into the net, looking for penalties in many cases, and simply score some proper goals. Fernandes is renown for his shooting ability outside the box and yet at United he's known for only scoring penalties. And no matter how effective his technique may be, I'm not at all a fan of the hop. It's effective, but girly.

[Don Giovanni]

It seems Woodward has given up on Sancho. I don't believe United are in urgent need to sign him, although there is no question he would be star.

United might sign a center-back. They might also sign another creative midfielder to add depth to Fernandes and Pogba. Grealish is without a doubt top of that list. I'm not so sure such a move would benefit him as he would certainly play second fiddle.

BTW, some hotshot Albanian idiot was trying to pick up Maguire's sister in Mykonos. She had the good sense to turn him down, but the scum responded by stabbing her with a metal straw. Good on Harry and it's a shame his time in Greece had to be spoiled by idiots. From what I heard, he hit an undercover cop who tried to stop the fight. While in jail for the night he tried to pay bribe and escape, something I can't say with approval, but he was treated well and otherwise ended the night without further incident.

When you're a celebrity, you simply can't enjoy yourself like any regular tourist.