FROM TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM – Manchester United have gotten themselves into a hell of a mess. On the pitch as well as off it.
The most fortunate of victories on Monday night against a Wolves team recently thumped by Brighton and Hove Albion was put down to early season syndrome (plus an inexplicable failure to rule a penalty against Andre Onana), and it was followed up on Saturday evening by a second half mauling by Ange Postecoglou’s new Tottenham.
Their dealing of the Mason Greenwood situation has been abominable in the days between the two matches, as well as the months before this season has begun. And evident at the new White Hart Lane has been what looks another poor summer of planning in the transfer market. Something wrong at the top of Manchester United, seems familiar?
Erik ten Hag has evolved this team to a point where he’s starting to be able to call it his own, and a £310m net spend has been afforded on it over three transfer windows. But United here were yet again impotent in attack and the time is upon us to judge whether the Dutchman has got his planning in the centre of midfield right for Premier League football.
Ten Hag continues to persist with Marcus Rashford as a central striker, essentially deleting his threat from wide areas, limiting his involvement in matches and stopping possibly United’s strongest on-field combination, between him and left back Luke Shaw. Rashford has proven time and again he doesn’t have the traits to lead a line and has openly admitted he’d prefer to play wide.
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Rasmus Hojlund will be relied upon when fit to take the burden of carrying the team up the pitch from centre forward, but the very fact United are having to wait for a 20-year-old, signed with an injury and absent for the opening weeks of his career at Old Trafford, reeks of poor planning.
And yes, to repeat, Hojlund is 20 years old. The initial intention was to integrate the Dane (or a young, promising striking option) with a more experienced striker to dovetail with as United compete on four fronts this season. But with less than two weeks remaining of the transfer window and with a sell-to-buy policy in place, any incomings are likely to come in other parts of the pitch.
The midfield balance is the element Ten Hag has sought strongest to correct since arriving. United signed Christian Eriksen and Casemiro last summer, and Mason Mount has been bought this year to succeed Eriksen long-term. And while questions were asked from prior to Mount’s arrival through pre-season on if a triumvirate of Casemiro, Mount and Bruno Fernandes had the right balance to control high-level matches (any matches, really) they will ramp up following this defeat.
United’s midfield trio were exposed continuously on Monday night, but overpowered in the second half by Tottenham’s stout and dynamic pairing of Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr, as well as the class of new signing James Maddison. Sarr scored the opener to cap off a player of the match performance by 90min standards.
Ten Hag wants United to complete the signing of Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat to restore balance but even following the potential arrival of the Moroccan, United’s proactivity in making Mount their first signing of the summer surely indicates an intention that the three are first choice, and will remain so, for the majority of the time.
Mason Mount completed 14 passes out of 17 attempted this evening in 85 minutes. Christian Eriksen, subbed on after the hour, completed 16 from 17.
— Scott Saunders (@__scottsaunders) August 19, 2023
Mount completed 14 out of 17 attempted passes across 85 minutes and could not get involved (Eriksen completed 16 from 17 in around 30 minutes) and while United insist they secured their first choice midfield target you can’t help but cast an eye towards west and north London as Chelsea and Arsenal have spent over £100m on three separate occasions between them this year on all-action central midfielders.
There’s a reason for those signings, and a reason why central midfielders cost so much money in modern football – because they hold so much influence over the control a team exerts over matches.
United have had an entire summer to address the issues they have in their team and the only noticeable difference in style to date stems from the arrival of Andre Onana. They have two weeks remaining in the transfer window with a self-inflicted PR disaster to clean up and on-field issues to fix in midfield and attack.
All this under the cloud of uncertainty that is the Glazer family’s ownership of Manchester United. Fitting, and unsurprising.
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On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Graeme Bailey to discuss Liverpool signing Wataru Endo, Man Utd’s difficulty selling players and West Ham’s pursuit of Mohammed Kudus – and more!
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