The transfer window is over and Manchester United have seen several outgoings and no incomings.
United had a large squad anyway, hence the number of players unhappy with their game time, so a few departures can be managed, providing the club gets lucky with injuries.
There are some positions where United are better stacked than others. This graphic below shows United’s first and second choice options for each position.
Note: Mason Greenwood is not included. He is suspended from all matches by the club and is no longer being considered as part of any squad depth conversation.
Add in Tom Heaton as a third option in goal, Phil Jones as extra centre-back, and Hannibal as an extra attacking midfielder.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths: United are clearly well stacked in goal with two top quality goalkeepers available and a dependable third. Hopefully we will only need one of them.
Central defence is also a very competitive area when all players are fit. United’s best partnership might even be without club captain Harry Maguire.
It is also good to have two available options at the full-back position. The competition should bring out the best in all four players.
Getting Paul Pogba back certainly boosts United’s attacking midfield options, and keeping Jesse Lingard also means the club are spoiled for choice, even with Donny van de Beek leaving. Hannibal will also be pushing for opportunities in the second half of the season.
Weaknesses: When it comes to strikers, there have been few better in world football than Cristiano and Edinson Cavani over the past decade. So in some ways this is a strength. But with one 36 and the other 34, time is working against them. Both have missed time with injury already in 2022 and there is fear one of them won’t hold up.
United need more youthful cover, and while Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga can lead the line, this then has a knock-on effect at left-wing. Perhaps Paul Pogba can cover there – although it’s not ideal.
A big area of concern is suddenly right-wing, with Greenwood a non-factor. Regular football may suit Jadon Sancho and give him the consistency he needs. The worry is that United are just a Sancho injury away from Juan Mata being a right-wing regular. It wouldn’t have hurt to recall Facundo Pellistri.
Defensive midfield is of course a glaring issue. Nemanja Matic is the only back-up for Scott McTominay, who is really better off as a box-to-box player anyway. This is a position United have to strengthen in the summer and will likely regret not doing so this past month.
Squad depth summary
Goalkeeper: De Gea, Henderson, Heaton, Grant
Right-back: Dalot, Wan-Bissaka
Centre-back: Varane, Maguire, Lindelof, Bailly, Jones
Left-back: Shaw, Telles
Midfield: McTominay, Fred, Pogba, Matic
Attacking midfield: Fernandes, Lingard, Hannibal
Right-wing: Sancho, Mata
Left-wing: Rashford, Elanga
Striker: Ronaldo, Cavani
Further youth emergency cover: Alvaro Fernandez (left-back), Marc Jurado (right-back), Charlie Savage, Isak Hansen-Aaroenm Zidane Iqbal (midfield), Shola Shoretire (Attacking midfield), Alejandro Garnacho (right-wing), Charlie McNeill, Joe Hugill (striker).
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