What was supposed to be a title-challenging season continues to spiral downhill for Manchester United. United’s top-four hopes were dealt another blow on Saturday with a 1-1 draw at home to Leicester City.
The Red Devils have one win in their last four league games and are three points behind 4th-placed Arsenal, who have two matches in hand over United. Provided the Gunners win their extra games, United will be nine points adrift the top four and will still have fixtures to play against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.
United have won less than half of their 30 league matches this term with 14 wins, 8 draws and 8 defeats. Another underwhelming statistic shows that of the teams currently in the top half of the Premier League table, only Aston Villa have conceded more goals at home (21) than United have (20). That is more goals than title contenders Manchester City and Liverpool have let in at home, COMBINED (10 and 7, respectively).
Needless to say the current United team is better-suited to Europa League football than the Champions League, but it would not be a total disaster if the club were to completely miss out on Europe next season. Arsenal seem to have benefited from not playing European football this season and now with an improved squad compared to a year ago, Mikel Arteta’s side look set to be rewarded with UCL football next season. Just like how Arsenal underwent a squad revamp, United too need to clear the decks.
The quartet of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, and Juan Mata are all but certain to leave the club pending the end of their contracts but the clear-out needs to go far beyond those whose deals expire on June 30. Interim manager Ralf Rangnick is expected to remain at the club in an advisory role once the current season ends. Since Rangnick’s arrival at the back end of last year, United have won 9 of 21 games across three competitions under the German.
With United on the hunt for a fifth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired nine years ago, Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino have reportedly been interviewed for the position. Pochettino and ten Hag are each in prime position to win the domestic league title with their current teams Paris St-Germain and Ajax, and the two candidates are the front-runners to take charge at Old Trafford next season. Similarly to United, both Ajax and PSG crashed out of the Champions League Round of 16.
The futures of players such as Anthony Martial, Donny van de Beek, Nemanja Matić, Eric Bailly, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Dean Henderson, and Phil Jones should be seriously considered by the club. A handful of players’ futures may hinge on the identity of the next manager. Martial was courted by Pochettino during the Argentine’s time at Tottenham, while van de Beek played under ten Hag for two-and-a-half years at Ajax.
Martial and van de Beek completed loan moves in January while Henderson, Bailly and Jones have amassed 307 combined minutes in the Premier League this season. Wan-Bissaka has fallen below Diogo Dalot in the pecking order, and Nemanja Matić (34 in August) no longer has the legs to play for longer than 30 minutes.
Should it come to United having to settle for the Europa League (or even no European football) next season, some high-profile names could also contemplate their immediate futures with the club. Cristiano Ronaldo is a five-time UCL winner and, now into his 38th year, may not stick around if the Red Devils are not competing in Europe’s elite.
