Manchester United are not the strongest contenders to lift the Premier League title this season. The Red Devils underwent a squad overhaul in the summer that saw the departure of Ander Herrera, Antonio Valencia and Romelu Lukaku. In exchange, they brought in the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Daniel James.
But, do they have what it takes to win the league this season? To figure that out, it’s imperative to consider three major aspects of a champion team – quality, consistency and depth. So let us discuss how the Red Devils fare in each of these sections.
Quality
Manchester United are surely not the strongest team in the Premier League. Rather, they have an exciting squad full of young players like Wan-Bissaka, Andreas Pereira, Scott McTominay and even James. None of these players are the best in the league in their respective positions. But, they have the talent and a room to improve.
Besides, they are all young and can provide more athleticism, which plays a vital role in Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer’s tactical philosophy. However, it may not be enough to compete with the likes of Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Even United’s most gifted individual in Alexis Sanchez has struggled to make an impact at Old Trafford. So it’s probably fair to say that the Premier League giants don’t have the mettle to become champions as far as the quality of the team is concerned.
Consistency
Having quality is one thing. But, maintaining that quality consistently is an entirely different thing. And that’s where huge European clubs in Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona have succeeded over the past few decades. Even Manchester City have been remarkably consistent under Pep Guardiola in recent years.
Manchester United, however, have never really managed to maintain any consistency ever since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. Last season, for example, the Red Devils endured an awful run of form during the backend of the campaign that saw them secure only two wins in their last nine league games.
As a result, they missed out on the Champions League and finished sixth, which is entirely unacceptable, especially if a team is to compete for the Premier League title.
Depth
Lack of depth is another crucial aspect that drives Manchester United down the pecking order in the Premier League. For starters, they don’t have any viable replacement for new signing Maguire, with the trifecta of Eric Bailly, Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones all struggling with injuries and lack of form.
They don’t even have a fully-fledged midfield department, with Nemanja Matic being the only experienced number six. Also, Fred has struggled to make his mark at Old Trafford while Herrera has already left the club.
But importantly, the Red Devils could be devoid of goalscoring options this summer, following the departure of Lukaku. Although the Belgian’s move to Inter Milan made sense, it was surprising to see United not going after a replacement.
Hence, United certainly don’t have what it takes to win the Premier League. But, it will be interesting to see how the Red Devils improve under the tutelage of Solskjaer this season.
