Manchester United Lineup For 2017-18 Including Potential New Arrivals
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has made his intentions very clear – he wants to conclude major transfer deals as early as possible with a view to have all his resources prior to pre-season. The Red Devils have already secured the £31million signing of Swedish international centre back Victor Lindelof from Portuguese heavyweights Benfica and are closing in on £35.2million rated Monaco hotshot Fabinho, as well as Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata who might cost them £78million.
Also, Chelsea midfield general Nemanja Matic is reportedly on his way to reunite with former boss Mourinho at Old Trafford and with all these new recruits, Manchester United are believed to chase their title dreams once again.
The Red Devils might have to sell a few of their underperforming stars like Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young and the legendary Wayne Rooney who surpassed Bobby Charlton’s record to become United’s top goal-scorer of all time.
Also, they have not renewed veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s contract who was the club’s top scorer last season. He suffered a significant ACL injury towards the end of the campaign. Despite all the probable departures, these new recruits will strengthen their depth in all departments as well as increase quality to dive into a title challenge.
Fabinho, who started his career as a right-back, was switched to defensive midfield duties for the last couple of seasons with AS Monaco and enjoyed an impressive Ligue1 winning campaign over French heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain. The Brazilian international is also regarded as an attack-minded right back who is aware of his defensive responsibilities as well.
He can provide competition for Antonio Valencia who enjoyed a blistering campaign down the right flank. Also, his presence in midfield will allow United’s world record signing Paul Pogba to have more freedom and feature in his preferred ‘trequartista’ role.
Alvaro Morata, on the other hand, is believed to be a direct replacement of Zlatan Ibrahimovic who will add goals to his name. The 24-year old Spaniard progressed through the youth ranks of Real Madrid but struggled to break into their senior side and was transferred to Serie A giants Juventus.
His impressive form for the Serie A champions in both domestic and Champions League competitions convinced Los Blancos to exercise the buy-back clause and brought him back to the Santiago Bernabeu. Although Morata struggled to have regular game-time, netted 20 times in 43 appearances altogether (he started only 18 of them) for the La Liga and Champions League winners. He needs to play on a regular basis prior to next year’s FIFA World Cup and thus, he is seeking a move elsewhere, with Manchester United reportedly in advanced talks to agree terms.