The Manchester United Rebuild, Part 2

Yesterday, we published part 1 of the Manchester United rebuild, as part of the series we’re going to do over the next couple of months. That post detailed how United got so bad, what there is to actually like about their current squad, and who they should look to sell. This piece is about who they might actually look to sign this summer.

As the old joke goes, David Moyes says MUFC must improve in a number of areas. But I’ve picked out 4 positions that I think they should target, in order of priority: Striker, central midfield, right wingback, and right outside center back.

“But,” you might ask, “don’t United need a…” Yes, yes they do. They could sign another winger. They could sign another left wingback. They could sell Andre Onana and buy a new goalkeeper. Man United need everything, but they will not be able to do everything.

The lack of good strikers and central midfielders at United would be a huge problem for any coach, running any system. United has some reasonable players at center back and right wingback, but they lack good system fits for Ruben Amorim at those spots, and if they’re standing by him, that will hold back the team much more than a mid goalkeeper will.

This rebuild idea also represents something short of a massive philosophical shift for United. It is simply a suggestion to stop being really stupid and start buying some players who have the right age, experience level, cost, traits, and tactical fit for the club. This should be good enough to transform United from complete trash to Europa League quality, but a team with United’s revenue and history should clearly aspire to much more than that.

From Ted, here is our extremely ambitious idea for rebuilding Man United:

“This is what they SHOULD do, but it requires a lot of discipline. Start buying up the cast-off talent from all the English academies that's escaping to Germany right now. Promise them minutes and escalators in their contracts if they become first team regulars. United have SO MANY HOLES they can't afford to fill. This project then becomes a mission to onshore the academy talent leaving elsewhere, but also helps them fill holes they have everywhere. Then when the best of them mature, all the terrible contracts should be rotated off the books, and they can surround these guys plus new academy players with elite international talent to fill out the squad.”

If we dove deeper into this idea, it would be a 6 or 7 part series of pure fiction. I would enjoy researching and writing it very much, and I’m sure our ~500 or so most hardcore readers would love it, but most of the rest of you want to look at radars and imagine Fab tweeting HERE WE GO.

So without any further ado, the monster part 2 of Rebuilding Manchester United. For each position group, I have suggested an ideal, likely, backup, and casino target. Apologies for the delay on the podcast due to someone’s internet dying yesterday; it’s recorded now and will release on Tuesday.

Striker: Ideal — Victor Osimhen

Well well well, I bet you expected to see Viktor Gyökeres here. I am not in any way anti-Gyökeres, I think he’s a good player who’s going to score a lot of goals in a big league if he leaves Sporting this summer. But I also think that Osimhen is better at getting his shot off quickly and avoiding blocks, and he’s also proven he can produce at a higher level. If they’re going to cost the same amount of money, I’m taking Osimhen.

Your mileage may vary on Turkish Super Lig stats, but Osimhen was the best striker in Europa League this season at an even 1 xG per 90. His shot volume is always nuts. He can be whatever his team needs him to be given the circumstances; he’s a shoot-first, out-and-out 9, but he’s proven adequate as a presser and playmaker for teammates too.

This guy just rocks. If Napoli are willing to sell at a price in the £50m range and he’s willing to sign, it’s a no-brainer for United. They have so many problems and a striker will not fix everything, but Osimhen is the quality of player who can make everyone around him look better.

Likely — Liam Delap

You might be a United fan who doesn’t want to sign a City kid under any circumstances, and I understand. You might be looking at Delap’s stats and thinking he’s not United quality, and I understand that too.

But I think this guy was ridiculously good for an Ipswich team that did not have close to Premier League standard talent, and £30m is a reasonable fee in a striker market where all the sure things cost double that. This will not fix United’s problems, but I will not yell at them for doing it either. Liam Delap is Fine.

United really should be able to buy Osimhen and Delap for a forward rotation, had they not acquired a series of albatrosses that they can’t get off their books. But if they can manage to shift both Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Höjlund for fees that don’t give negative PSR hits, you might see them pick up one of the below players, or someone in a similar price range.

Backup plan — Jonathan David

Boring, but both reliable and available on a free. Jonathan David presses his ass off and finishes at a reasonable rate.

The backup plan Manchester United have actually been linked to is Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace, but he’s going to cost somewhere in the £30m range to give you David-level production, without Delap-level upside. If United were a good team trying to make sure they didn’t screw anything up, I could justify a Mateta signing. But they suck, so they shouldn’t do that.

Going to the casino — Emanuel Emegha

So far we’ve talked about one of the obvious best strikers in the world and some cheap guys. Time for some fun. If United want to take some risks to get good, how about the BlueCo owned 22-year-old Dutch striker Emanuel Emegha, who’s going absolutely HAM for Strasbourg in Ligue 1 this season.

His shot map is so beautiful. Even though Emegha is 6’5”, he doesn’t get that many headers at all. Instead, triangles as far as the eye can see. We’re very pro-triangles over here at The Transfer Flow. Play through balls into the box for your striker to run onto. Vroom vroom.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows here. Emegha needs a trip to the weight room and diet plan with 200 grams of protein. And a heading coach. And his shot volume is mid. And BlueCo will charge a ton of money to sell him to a rival. But if you’re looking for dudes who can raise your ceiling, Emegha is an extremely high potential player.

Central midfielder: Ideal — Angelo Stiller

Earlier in the year, we highlighted Stuttgart’s star central midfielder as a slightly under-the-radar guy who Premier League teams might be able to scoop up for a reasonable price. That isn’t happening anymore. Stiller has been a star in the Bundesliga and is getting starts for the German national team now.

Unfortunately for United, I think Stiller is going to have the option to sign for a team who is currently participating in the UEFA Champions League instead, and I suspect he’ll be much more interested in that. But they should absolutely try.

Likely — Ederson

United have been actively linked to Atalanta midfielder Ederson in the press for a fee in the neighborhood of £40m, and if it’s true I think they’re cooking. This guy fits the profile they need — an all-rounder who’s better defensively than Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes, as well as a better passer than Manuel Ugarte, to fill out their stable of central midfield options.

He’s the right age, entering his peak but unlikely to decline before the end of a 5-year contract. He’s already playing at a high level, and in a similar system with Atalanta, so he should be a plug-and-play CM. Something has changed for the better in United’s talent ID operations if they make this signing.

Backup plan — Manuel Locatelli

Every summer, Juventus and/or Locatelli’s agent leaks to the press that he’s for sale for the right price. Premier League clubs kick the tyres, go "ehh, idk,” and then he stays at Juventus. He then has a totally fine but not spectacular season.

Locatelli plays solid defense and doesn’t do anything stupid with the ball. He will not cost a crazy amount of money. This would be an extremely unsexy signing, but one that instantly makes United’s midfield more functional.

Going to the casino — Lamine Camara

Continuing the theme of “vroom vroom” when it comes to the casino picks, Lamine Camara is a superb athlete who has proven adept at doing a little bit of everything for Monaco in his first season there since signing from Metz.

Whether or not Monaco are willing to sell him on after just one year probably depends on their final position in Ligue 1. As it stands, they’re one point out of a Champions League place. If they miss out, given the financial realities of French football in general and a low attendance team like Monaco specifically, everyone becomes available for the right price.

Camara has some bust potential with his relative lack of experience and smaller frame (he’s 5’8” and pretty skinny), but a guy with his work rate, pace, and this kind of production at Ligue 1 level has a ton of potential.

Right wingback: Ideal — Pedro Porro

The obvious Man United thing to do is buy the coach His Guy. Porro had some extremely productive time under Amorim at Sporting, and he’s continued to put up big numbers for Spurs, even as everything around him crumbles.

But I think striker and central midfield are much bigger needs for United, and they probably shouldn’t spend a huge chunk of their budget on a wingback. I’m also not sure how willing Porro would be to swap one disaster scenario for another. If he’s leaving Spurs, it’s probably to play in Champions League.

Likely — Dodo

You probably expected Jeremie Frimpong here, but I feel like I cannot in good conscience recommend him, as much as I enjoy him. He’s the most specific system fit, one-trick pony player you’re ever going to see. Frimpong might end up as a great player for Amorim’s United, but it seems insane to me to spend a lot of money on a guy who’s not going to have a use case if the coach leaves.

Instead, here’s a Frimpong-like substance who could also just play as a normal right back if Amorim quits because he’s going crazy and he gets replaced with the most boring 4-2-3-1 mid-block manager you can think of. Dodo has given Fiorentina all of the dribbling value from the RWB spot, but can also play defense and pass a little bit.

Backup plan — Luis Henrique

The same things said above about Monaco also apply to Marseille. They probably don’t want to sell Luis Henrique, and will be able to fight off the wolves if they make Champions League. But if they don’t, he suddenly becomes available for a reasonable price.

He’s down here below Dodo for me because a) I think he’d probably cost a bit more, given that he’s younger and on a “bigger” team, and b) he’s a bit more Frimpong-like in that his ball-winning volume and passing value are quite low.

Going to the casino — Martim Fernandes

I don’t know if Martim Fernandes has the physical qualities to adjust to the Premier League, or if he has the experience to make a big jump up, or if he’s the kind of pure dribbling machine Amorim wants in a wingback. But, the playmaking!

Fernandes is a bit more in the Trent Alexander-Arnold, modern passing fullback mold than the other true wingback guys. This also means he has more system versatility and potential resale value.

Right center back: Ideal — Edmund Tapsoba

Bayer Leverkusen will ask for an arm, a leg, and your first born child. But there’s no more obvious plug-and-play outside CB for a back three team. Tapsoba brings a combination of aerial ability, carrying ability and experience in a similar system that you’re not getting from anyone else.

Given how many things they have to fix, I don’t think United throw down £60m+ on a CB. But this is as close to worth it as someone’s going to get.

Likely — Jan Paul van Hecke

Emerging mid-20s guy in their league that they’ve seen up close, the classic United signing. Very much a Tapsoba from AliExpress situation, van Hecke ticks all the boxes for what United would be looking for in an outside CB. Brighton are confident enough in their ability to scout and develop that everyone has a price, always.

The one sticking point is that Brighton are very good at selling players, and might ask for a very large fee. If they’re willing to let him go cheap, that’s also scary, and you’d wonder what they know that you don’t. But I think this guy would do an excellent job in Amorim’s system.

Backup plan — Mario Gila

If you don’t want to pay for the aerial ability and just want the carrying and on-ball defending stuff, Gila from Lazio is a solid option. We talked about him last week when his name started popping up in rumours, and I thought he’d be a better fit for a back 3 team than a back 4 one.

Going to the casino — Nnamdi Collins

If you really want carrying ability and really don’t care about aerial stuff, why not just totally go for it? Nnamdi Collins has a bit of a wacky radar because he’s played some right back, but at 6’3”/191cm, teams will probably want to make him work in the middle if they can.

He’s only got 1500 minutes of Bundesliga experience after playing the last couple seasons at B-team level, but he’s turned in some outstanding performances for Eintracht Frankfurt in that time. Collins has an ideal profile for an outside CB in a back 3 who’s tasked with a lot of ball progression, and I don’t think it would be crazy for a big club to roll the dice on him.

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