Manchester United 2023/24 Season Preview & Expectations

The 2023/24 season is a hopeful one for Manchester United, especially after a strong 2022 season under Erik Ten Hag. The Dutch tactician was brought in to steady the ship after Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and he showed enough in his first season to be termed as the best Man United manager since Sir Alex Fergusson.

This season is now the time to build on that and significantly close the gap to noisy neighbours Manchester City.

But is everything likely to go according to plan for Ten Hag’s side? Things have been off to a rocky start with lots of issues in and out of the pitch, and we’ll preview the season for United. The article is based on our interview with football and online live casino expert Bernard Maumo from OnlineCasinoRank.

A Turbulent Start

Manchester United is engulfed in negative energy surrounding the club sale that has dragged on for over 7 months, with no significant news seemingly on the horizon. Most expected that the issue would be solved before the start of the season to give the club clarity in terms of the transfer season. 

The pressure to sell from the fans has been compounded by the Mason Greenwood saga over the last few weeks. Following the conclusion of the issue six months after internal investigations began in January, the CEO Richard Arnold is now facing calls to resign owing to how the whole matter was handled. 

And to top it off, the team has begun the season poorly. United struggled against Wolves in the opening fixture, only managing to edge out a 1-0 victory after Wolves were the better team in the second half.

This was then followed by a meekly defeat at The Tottenham Hotspur stadium, which highlighted the on-pitch issues that the team is still to overcome. There was also a 3-0 loss in a game that was played behind closed doors, although it mostly featured fringe players.

Ins and Outs

Heading into the new season, Manchester United’s priority was to sign a striker. The manager decided that young Danish forward Rasmus Hojlund would be the one to lead the team. The youngster is still not an established first teamer, but it would be interesting to see if he can fill the gaping void immediately and deliver the goods.

According to football and online live casino expert Maumo, solving United’s attacking issues completely would be too much to ask the 20-year-old, but not impossible.

In the midfield department, United also brought in Mason Mount from Chelsea. The midfielder is expected to provide energy and creativity in the midfield alongside Casemiro, pretty much the role that Eriksen was playing last season.

Andre Onana was also brought in to take the place of David De Gea after negotiations for the Spaniard to remain at the club failed. But although United offered the Spaniard a deal, Erik Ten Had has always wanted a ball-playing goalkeeper.

According to Maumo, Onana is one of the best ball-playing goalkeepers in the world, and that has already been evident in the first few games.

The main departures during the summer transfer window were Fred (Fenerbahce), Alex Telles  (Al-Nassr), Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest), and David Degea (Free Agent).

Season Expectations

In the 2022/23 season, the expectations were a top-four spot to guarantee a return to the Champions League and at least a title.

The manager delivered on both, finishing the league season third behind Manchester City and Arsenal. He also managed to hand United the first trophy in six years by winning the EFL Cup. There was then the FA Cup final loss against City, which proved that the team had to improve. 

The 2023/24 season is now expected to be the season to do that. However, Erik Ten Hag has already played down the expectations of winning the title, which is understandable.

Given City’s recent dominance and the transfer activities of Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Newcastle, nobody would be upset about a top-four finish.

However, it’s expected that progress should be shown, and the team should at least challenge until March/April.

In the other competitions, winning silverware is the minimum after the EFL Cup win and reaching the FA Cup finals and Europa League semifinals.

Now that the team is in the Champions League, reaching at least the quarterfinals should be the target. But since we are talking about Manchester United, the dream will always be there among the fans to win the league or even the Champions League.

Wonderkid to watch

Last season saw the arrival of Alejandro Garnacho, and the youngster established himself enough to earn a start in the first game of the season. This year, Kobbie Mainoo is expected to be the young player to watch.

The 18-year-old academy product was named the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year for the 2022/23 season. He also made his senior team debut in the same season in a 3–0 EFL Cup win over Charlton Athletic. This was then followed by a league debut on 19 February after he came on as a substitute in the 3–0 win against Leicester City.

During the preseason in the US, Mainoo was the breakout star and was hugely impressive in the 2-0 win over Arsenal. He also played well in the friendlies against Leeds and Lyon before he got an injury that will keep him out at the start of the season.

Ten Hag promised that he will get his chances when he comes back, and he is expected to be a mainstay in the future. Bernard Maumo concludes that it will be interesting to see how much progress the youngster as well as the team can make.