The story of Manchester United’s summer has been one of upgrading.
Of replacing decent or injury-prone players with potentially very, very good ones.
Out goes Anthony Martial, the matchstick man centre-forward with his limbs held together by sticking plasters and bluetack. In comes Joshua Zirkzee; fast, physical, and a ‘master’ link-man.
Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt, meanwhile, are substantial upgrades on the eternally-average Victor Lindelof and the ancient Jonny Evans. That almost goes without saying, Manchester United suddenly boasting a central defensive pool as deep as they come.
Noussair Mazraoui might not possess Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s crunching slide tackles but, an excellent technician and highly creative, the former Bayern Munich and Ajax man looks far better suited to Erik ten Hag’s gameplan.
To think, it’s not that long ago that Manchester United were lining up with a spine consisting of an error-prone David de Gea, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, Marcel Sabitzer and Wout Weghorst.
Against Fulham in Friday’s Premier League opener, Ten Hag could field Andre Onana, De Ligt, Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee.
Manchester United unveil Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui
Legendary former captain Roy Keane is yet to be fully convinced, however.
He has concerns over the charismatic but occasionally bumbling Onana, while neither Rasmus Hojlund nor Zirkzee can really be considered a guarantee of goals in the top-flight as of yet.
But he is expecting big improvements on last term’s eighth-place finish. Particularly after confirming th initial £38 million acquisition of a vastly-experienced but still only 25-year-old centre-half in De Ligt.
“I think he will be a good signing,” Keane tells The Overlap of Man United’s new number four.
“(But) for the nice play they have, I worry about the spine. I still worry about the goalkeeper. You talk about the striker…
“On paper, they have a decent squad. On paper. But the reality is that, when they played games, they were so open.
“I just worry about the spine of the team.”
Roy Keane issues Mason Mount plea
Keane also feels that there is one member of the United squad who heads into the new season with a massive point to prove.
Yes, any criticism of Mason Mount should be tempered by the fact that the former Chelsea ace was limited to only five Premier League starts due to injury.
But, at £55 million, Keane – who was also critical of Marcus Rashford a few days ago – believes that Mount has done little in his admittedly-small number of appearances to justify such an outlay.
“Mount needs to do more,” he tells former team-mate Gary Neville before casting doubt on whether the England international will even command a regular place in Ten Hag’s first-team.
“Do you think Mount will be in the starting XI?”
Mount showed flashes of promise during Saturday’s Community Shield. He made a few intelligent runs into the penalty area and could have had a first-half tap-in if he and the wriggling, weaving Amad Diallo had been on the same wavelength.
“We know he’s a high class player,” Ten Hag told the Manchester Evening News during his pre-Wembley press conference a week ago. “Last season, he had a very bad season. A very tough season for him because of all injuries.”
“Now, we are very pleased he had a good pre-season. And I’m sure, from this point on, he will contribute to the team if he stays fit.”
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