*United were always famous for having a world class spine during their period of unquestionable dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson*‘s trophy laden tenure. In those days, Manchester United transfer news was always reported once the deal had already been completed.
Since SAF left it feels like they have never had a truly dominant spine to their team. The current best XI looks particularly weak given the recent performances of the players occupying the key central positions in the team last campaign.
The only player who may be part of the team’s spine signed so far is Matheus Cunha who we will discuss below.
United’s best goalkeepers and what should they do now?
Starting in goal United had the likes of France’s Fabien Barthez who was prone to the occasional clanger when he went running out of his goal on an ill-advised intervention but he was reliable when it came to making key saves and he had the trust of the boss.
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Next come’s the best keeper United fielded under Ferguson’s management in the form of Premier League great Peter Schmeichel who was the man who commanded his penalty area like no other. The Dane was famous for intimidating the opposition’s strikers and indeed his own back four to perform better but was unrivalled in the 1990’s.
Schmeichel was in goal as United secured their first Premier League title and added another 4 titles, 3 FA Cups and a Champions League as part of the treble winning 1999 campaign. When he left, the team could not replace him until they finally landed ex-Juventus man Van der Sar from Fulham with Ferguson lamenting in his biography,
‘We had a bad period trying to replace Peter Schmeichel. It’s maybe not my strong point. It wasn’t until we brought in Edwin that we got back to the level we had with Peter. Edwin was a great buy for us, absolutely brilliant. Looking back, I just wish we’d got him when Peter decided to leave.’
Alex Ferguson: My Autobiography
Dutch legend Edwin Van der Sar eventually replaced Schmeichel. United signed SIX keepers in all before they finally landed Van der Sar from Fulham who proved to be the answer to their problems in goal. The Dutchman helped United secure 4 PL titles plus the Champions League in 2008 as part of arguably United’s best side.
With the exception of Spain’s David De Gea who had a very shaky start and end to his career at United but was solid during much of his career repaying Sir Alex’s faith in him as they won the last title under Ferguson in the 2012-13 season. De Gea added an FA Cup and a couple of League Cups plus the Europa League. It’s no surprise United have looked very vulnerable in goal since De Gea left.
United brought in Andre Onana from Inter Milan in the summer of 2023, where he won the Coppa Italia and helped the team to the Champions League Final. Onana, signed on a £47million deal, reunited with his former Ajax coach Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford with whom he won 3 Dutch Eredivise titles, and was supposed replace De Gea.
Many players and managers say you cannot truly compete for titles unless you have a world-class keeper and while Onana excelled at Ajax and Inter the pressure at Old Trafford appears to be too much. Last season under ten Hag and Amorim’s management the Cameroonian keeper struggled for form despite winning the FA Cup the year before, leaving United linked with many keepers this summer. Despite numerous rumours, Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez is seemingly the man most strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford according to the Manchester Evening News.
Martinez is a proven winner as his World Cup win with his native Argentina has proven and he seems to have the confidence needed to be able to handle the pressure at United. The World Cup winner would certainly be an upgrade on Andre Onana but whether the money can be found to sign him remains to be seen.
United central defensive partnerships in the past and now
United were spoiled over the years with the likes of Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Laurent Blanc, Jaap Stam, Wes Brown and Ronny Johnsen being part of legendary centre-back partnerships. The best partnership in many people’s minds was Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. The latter two combined a warrior in Vidic who was never afraid to put his head/foot in to win the ball, and a supreme ball playing defender in Ferdinand with lightning speed.
When you look at the current options available to Ruben Amorim, it’s hard to imagine that between Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Matthis De Ligt, Ayden Heaven and Lenny Yoro that the United boss will not be able to find a combination that will solidify the defence. Maybe not in the way Vidic and Ferdinand did for SAF but solid nonetheless.
There is at least hope in that part of the team’s spine given the upside of youngsters Heaven and Yoro and the ability when fit of World Cup winner Martinez plus veterans De Ligt and Maguire who were far from the worst performers last season.
Comparing United’s previous options in central midfield to now
This is an area which was a huge area of strength traditionally for Manchester United with the likes of the legendary Bryan Robson, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs in his latter years and David Beckham all playing massive parts in the success of the team. All the players were able to contribute in attack and defence and all played with a bit of a chip on their shoulder, never afraid to “leave a bit on” a player in a tackle and always combative.
Other so-called lesser players were often able to come in and do a proper job for United with the likes of Ji-sung Park and Darren Fletcher both able to produce at the very highest levels when needed for the Red-Devils under SAF.
When you look at some of the players who have been signed in midfield post Sir Alex like Fred, Morgan Schneiderlin, Casemiro and Bastien Schweinsteiger, who were all signed to boost the character and spine of the team, the difference is stark.
Casemiro was signed from Real Madrid when Eric ten Hag was unable to land Frenkie de Jong from Barca and in fairness the Brazilian 5 times Champions League winner was the glue in the team during his first season at United. He was instrumental in the way the team performed as the club won the League Cup, finishing 3rd and qualifying for the Champions League as he was one of the first names on the team sheet. His second season was marred by injury and poor form with the start of the 2024-25 season also making Casemiro looking past it.
New signing Manuel Ugarte was brought in from PSG to bolster the spine of the team last summer, as United inexplicably sold academy product Scott McTominay to Napoli where he went on to win Serie A under Antonio Conte last season.
As the season progressed after Ruben Amorim took over, Casemiro seemed to enjoy a renaissance, Ugarte started to look more like a PL player but United are still sadly lacking quality even with truly remarkable captain fantastic Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese midfielder has shown he is absolutely world class and has grown to be a worthy United captain. Where the team would have been without him is likely relegated to the Championship.
Whether the allure of playing next year’s World Cup will motivate Casemiro to reach his former levels seems possible. The Brazilian has stated his goal is to be super fit and a regular United starter, so he gets into Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil World Cup squad for next year’s competition in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Ugarte will be better in his 2nd PL season and Bruno Fernandes will continue to be the talisman he has become for the club barring injury.
Adding a midfielder or two with an edge who commands the dressing room’s respect like Roy Keane and Bryan Robson did in the past will be tough to achieve given the financial issues the team faces. Whether the likes of Douglas Luiz, linked in a swap deal with Juventus for Jadon Sancho, can provide an answer remains to be seen. The current United midfield options seem very weak compared with the names of the past who were all box-to-box midfielders.
Atalanta midfielder Ederson, according to Goal Brasil, is also linked with a move to United and is experienced with almost 140 appearances for the Serie A outfit in all competitions, scoring 13 goals. He could prove a prudent addition but is also being pursued by both Inter Milan and Juventus with a suggested fee of £50million meaning he won’t come cheap but at 26 years old he is approaching his peak.
Central midfield seems like a huge area for improvement even given the impeccable Fernandes, starlet Kobbie Mainoo and a fit Mason Mount plus a possibly motivated and fit Casemiro and improving Ugarte. It will need more than one transfer window to address the stark needs the team has in there.
Comparing United centre-forward options past and present
When you consider some of the goal-scorers to have led the line for Manchester United it is a ridiculously impressive list. Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney, Ole Gunnar-Solksjaer, Teddy Sheringham, Andy Cole, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Dimitar Berbatov, Louis Saha and the list goes on.
The current options of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee cannot hold a torch to the striking talent listed above. Hojlund as mentioned recently by former United striker’s coach Benni McCarthy has “got all the attributes to become a top player”. Surely the Danish international would have been better served to learn from and back up a veteran striker like Ivan Toney who has scored reliably and is proven in the Premier League. Ivan Toney has been linked with joining United from Al-Ahli in Saudi this summer so this may still come to pass.
Instead Zirkzee and Hojlund enjoyed a torrid time last season both struggling for goals and feeling the weight of the United shirt. Ruben Amorim has made one serious move to address this lack of goals with the signing of Brazilian striker/number 10 Matheus Cunha from Wolves for a reported fee of £62.5m.
Cunha can score, create goals, carry the ball and plays on the edge which is badly needed in the United set up right now. He seems like he can handle the pressure of being a United player and will add sorely needed aggression and bite to the team. The only downside is his spotty disciplinary record but hopefully he strikes a balance enabling him to avoid red cards.
Multiple bids have been tabled to Brentford for Bryan Mbeumo starting with an opening £55m bid for the player, before also being knocked back with their second offer worth £62.5m. With Spurs also in the frame but with Mbeumo apparently wanting to join United, Amorim wants to get this deal finalised.
United badly need to add more goals from the centre forward position and whether it is the strongly linked Bryan Mbeumo, Viktor Gyokeres, Victor Osimhen or even Jamie Vardy who are signed it seems they need to add at least two more proven goal-scorers to address the woeful number of goals scored by the strikers last campaign.
What are the bare essentials United need to reinforce the spine of the team?
Well despite his record elsewhere, Andre Onana seems like he should be replaced with Aston Villa’s World Cup winner Emi Martinez, the man who seems like the best candidate if a deal can be done.
Central defence seems like an area where the club could afford to wait given the depth they have there with the mix of experience, youth and winners available to them. Between Maguire, Martinez, De Ligt, Heaven and Yoro you would expect Amorim to find a combination in the centre of defence that works in his system. Last season the defensive record was relatively decent.
Adding quality to the midfield seems like a priority even if Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount plus academy graduates Toby Collyer and Daniel Gore have fine seasons. It seems reasonable Ruben Amorim will get the best out of his former Sporting Lisbon player Manuel Ugarte and a motivated Casemiro but a signing like Feyenoord’s Quinten Timber could be a cheaper option to revisit if Atalanta’s Ederson cannot be signed.
In addition to the quality signing which Matheus Cunha looks to be, surely signing Brenford’s Bryan Mbeumo plus one of Osimhen, Gyokeres and Vardy seem essential to the team’s hopes for next campaign. United fans must be desperate to hear of more goals being added to the team.
Things all seem to have got a bit too nice in the Old Trafford dressing room and some hard-nosed edgy characters are needed. In the days of Roy Keane and Teddy Sheringham the players were far from best mates as detailed famously in a book via this GiveMeSport article which recounts the massive row between the two players which left them not on speaking terms for over 3 and half years. Even so this did not stop them from winning trophy after trophy, proving if you are a top professional winning is the only currency that counts. Matheus Cunha seems like the right kind of signing but time will tell.