With Champions League football an almost surety, Manchester United fans can be a little pleased with this season after the disaster that was last season. Manchester United might have had a slow start to the season, but that has picked up and they are one of the form sides in England if not in Europe. This has led them to claim a top 4 place, so far and at times they have played brilliant football, it is effective if not catching on the eye.
If Louis Van Gaal is to help the club challenge for the title and for European glory, he needs to do a few things at the club. We look at 3 things the Dutch master needs to do at Manchester United before the start of next season.
Figure out what to do with the big money signings
While Daley Blind and Juan Mata have shown how good they really are, the likes of Radamel Falcao, Angel di Maria haven’t stepped up to the plate as expected. The duo have been incredibly ineffective, especially for the money being paid to them. At least United have the option to not sign Falcao at the end of the season, but di Maria really needs to work hard to make sure that he is in the team next year or he could be on his way out again and to be fair United have played better without Maria in the side.
Sign a striker
Well, we have covered the Falcao issue above, but another issue is regarding Robin Van Persie and his lack of game time. That is something that needs to be looked at and with Chicharito on loan at Real Madrid; Manchester United would need to sign someone to help out Wayne Rooney in the goal scoring department. Manchester United have lacked firepower for quite a while this season and that could come back to haunt them unless they work on it next season and ensure that goals are scored with the same ferocity like that under Sir Alex Ferguson. That is what Manchester United were known for.
Sign a central defender
Manchester United have had to play this season with stop gaps and they might have given the likes of McNair and Blackett a go in central defence, but they have missed on the experience of Ferdinand, Vidic and Evra. The biggest issue is with their central defensive partnership. The likes of Jones, Evans and Smalling does not provide a lot of confidence to the Old Trafford faithful but that is what United have at the moment and they would need to change that up real fast. Mats Hummels is available, or has been available for a long time and with Klopp leaving Dortmund; he could be the answer to United’s defensive problems.