The Transfer Window:
Manchester United have had a quiet transfer window so far, may be one of the reasons why is because their manager Louis van Gaal isn’t a man who likes panic buys. Last season’s target, Ander Herrera, was signed for nearly £30 million to add that extra bit of quality that they missed in the past season. Patrice Evra and Alexander Buttner left the club so United signed young Luke Shaw as their long term replacement. One of the key areas that needs strengthening is the center back position. The duo of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic left the club and are yet to be replaced by quality defenders. One does wonder whether Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans will be able to replace them. Transfer targets Bruno Martins Indi and Eliaquim Mangala have gone out of reach, so Van Gaal will have to be quick if he wants to sign quality reinforcements. Daley Blind and Arturo Vidal are rumored to be on Van Gaal’s mind right now.
Pre-season results:
LA GALAXY 0-7 MANCHESTER UNITED
AS ROMA 2-3 MANCHESTER UNITED
INTER MILAN 0-0 MANCHESTER UNITED
MANCHESTER UNITED 3-1 REAL MADRID
LIVERPOOL1-3 MANCHESTER UNITED
MANCHESTER UNITED 2-1 VALENCIA CF
Manchester United won the International Champions cup in pre-season
Tactics and probable line-up:
Louis van Gaal went with a totally unexpected 3-5-2 formation in the World Cup and has done the same with Manchester United so far in pre-season. Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans are expected to be the 3 at the back with Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia as the wing backs. However, after Shaw was ruled out for 4 weeks, it seems that Adnan Janujaz might take that left wing back position. Ander Herrera and Darren Fletcher started together in the midfield and it might be like that for the time being atleast! Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley are expected to provide backup.
In the attack, Juan Mata will pull the strings behind the duo of Robin van Persie and club captain Wayne Rooney. Mata will be much more relieved to play in that position rather than the wide areas where he was deployed by David Moyes. The creativity will be provided by Mata, and with 2 world class strikers in the form of Rooney and Van Persie, the attack line is almost perfect.
The only problem that lies with this formation is that the center backs might be exposed to much, and with no natural wing backs, it might be an even bigger problem for United. However, the Dutch manager can still sign players to fill that position, as we revealed earlier in the preview, Daley Blind could solve that problem for them. Van Gaal used to play fluid attacking Dutch football, and despite the murmurs that he has changed his philosophy, evident in the World Cup where the Dutch played counter attacking football, United played some good attacking football in the pre-season and are still unbeaten.
Prediction:
| Game changer: Louis van Gaal | The WILD CARD: Adnan Januzaj |
 FOOTSIE’s Prediction League: 4th FA Cup: Winners |
