There are few people out there who would disagree there is huge rebuilding requirement at Old Trafford this summer. The current Manchester Unied squad has been labelled not fit for purpose by pundits who know the club well. At present, it seems likely that United are at least five years away from challenging the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title. Some bookmakers are even getting in on the action, with Paddy Power offering free football bets on United to win the title in the 2019-2020 season, such is their confidence that they will not have to pay out.
All the noise coming from United suggests that a change of strategy is afoot, with overpaid, over the hill stars of yesteryear out and young, ambitious talent in. To that end, here is a list of players that Manchester United are reportedly hoping to sign this summer to freshen up the crumbling empire.
Joao Felix
He’s been labelled as the next Ronaldo and whilst those are some extremely large boots to fill, you can see why the comparisons are being made. Felix has just finished an outstanding season with Benfica, having notched up 15 goals and seven assists in 26 appearances. Not bad for a player who was released by Porto five years ago because he was deemed too small for the professional game. There were similar concerns about a certain Lionel Messi when he was coming through the ranks at Barcelona and we all know how that turned out. His release clause is a hefty at £105m, but United could quite easily recoup that and make a profit if the 19-year-old were to excel and the likes of Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain came calling.
Jadon Sancho
Sancho is one of those rare English talents who moved abroad to get playing time and has actually excelled in his first season Borussia Dortmund. The gifted 19-year-old has registered an impressive 12 goals and 14 assists this campaign and would bring a degree of flair that has been sorely missed in recent times at United. He’d likely cost upwards of £100m and according to Dortmund’s sporting director, will definitely not be leaving this summer.
Declan Rice
Turning our attention a little closer to home, Declan Rice has established himself as a first team regular and natural leader at West Ham. When you look down United’s teamsheet on match days, it’s a struggle to find any player in the first eleven who is capable of setting the tone and leading the team into battle. There is certainly no Vincent Kompany at Manchester United and, given that Kompany has now left City, United may find themselves in a bidding war with City for the Englishman’s services. Given the state of both squads, it’s easy to see why Rice may favour the blue half of Manchester.
Daniel James
This one has been in the news for what seems like an eternity. Daniel James has shown real promise this season at Swansea City and who could forget ‘that goal’ he scored in the FA Cup against Brentford. At £15m, his price tag is considerably less than all of the others mentioned on this list. That’s probably because he represents more of a gamble, but he has so much raw pace and a few tricks as well. If he could improve his end product, he really would be the bargain of the summer.
