Three Players Manchester United Should Sign During The Summer Transfer Window

Mourinho needs to be active in the transfer market this summer – Credit: Business Insider

Manchester United did not have a successful season by the club’s standards. However, they took a few steps forward under Jose Mourinho’s first year at the helm.

Coming off a few disappointing years during the David Moyes and Louis van Gaal eras, “The Special One” got off to a slow start but finished the year on a strong note winning the UEFA Europa League. That means United will return to the UEFA Champions League in the 2017-18 season, a competition they shouldn’t have left in the first place.

However, and as the saying goes, “with great power comes great responsibilities”. Manchester United might have a lot of talent on their squad, but they need to get better. As it stands right now, they are not enough to compete for the Champions League title. But a few reinforcements could put The Red Devils in a much better position to become a title contender. Here are three players Manchester United should sign during the upcoming transfer window.

James Rodriguez

The transfer saga of James Rodriguez will be one of the hottest during the upcoming transfer window. The Real Madrid playmaker is set to leave Spain, and several teams have emerged as potential suitors. PSG, Manchester City, Inter Milan, and Juventus have expressed interest in his services. However, he would be the perfect addition for United ahead of next season.

Even though James looked uninspiring at times with Los Merengues, everybody knows he is a special talent. But like most Latin players, he needs to know the manager wants him and that was not the case with Zinedine Zidane. He is only a few years removed from an impressive 2014 World Cup campaign, and he has shown he can be an impact player when given enough minutes. He would certainly arrive to Old Trafford with superstar status, but he has enough talent to respond to that label.

Plus, Manchester United needs a playmaker in the final third. Zlatan Ibrahimovic can’t do everything on his own, and Paul Pogba is better suited to play as a central midfielder. The potential presence of James would improve the team’s play in the final third, and it would also allow Mourinho to play his best players on the role they prefer.

Victor Lindelöf

If this season showed us something, is that United needs to improve defensively. After all, they have not had a dominant centre-back pairing since the days of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. The current squad features talented players, but they do not have a world class defender. And the arrival of Victor Lindelöf would change that.

Casual football fans might not know who is this central defender from Sweden that plays in Benfica. But some of the biggest teams in the world have him on his agenda. He is a physical presence who can dominate on the air, but is not clumsy with the ball on his feet, either.

Lindelöf would represent a big upgrade over Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, two talented but inconsistent defenders. And he would complement perfectly with Eric Bailly. It would also allow a positional change for Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind – both were used as centre-backs last season, but are better suited to play as fullbacks.

Marco Verratti

Michael Carrick is not the player he once was. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin are gone. And while Mourinho has Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba to deploy as a central midfielder, he could use more depth. A defensive specialist in the middle of the pitch is essential for winning teams. Just ask Chelsea and Leicester City about the importance of someone like N’Golo Kante.

There are not many options available in the transfer market, but one player that would fit perfectly in United’s midfield would be Marco Verratti. Verratti has already said he is not leaving PSG this summer. However, how many times we have seen that movie before? Players deny rumors only to sign with the previously reported team weeks later.

Verratti checks many boxes for The Red Devils, as he is a young player with upside that has a lot of experience. He would come from a winning side like PSG, and United needs someone who can takeover games from midfield while protecting more talented elements such as Pogba, Herrera and Juan Mata. Verratti is destined for a bigger club than PSG in the near future, and he is a perfect fit for Mourinho’s system.