After registering their worst-ever Premier League finish last season in eighth place, there is nowhere to go but up for Manchester United, especially how they’ve conducted their business lately.
Since winning the FA Cup final, INEOS ultimately decided to keep Erik ten Hag as their manager amid sacking rumours. Not only did they choose to continue working with the Dutchman, they also gave him the ultimate vote of confidence by signing him to a new extension until 2026.
Now that Erik ten Hag no longer has to worry about his job security, he will turn his full focus to trying to bring back the glory days at Old Trafford one day at a time.
The SBOTOP Premier League 2024 odds give the Red Devils a realistic shot of making it back to the Champions League, but can they go higher than that?
INEOS are wasting no time
One can argue that Erik ten Hag was not given enough to work with in his first two years at Manchester United, when they were still handled by the Glazers. Now that INEOS is working behind the scenes, the Dutchman no longer has an excuse to not do well starting next season.
With Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Dave Brailsford, and Jean-Claude Blanc at the helm, INEOS is making sure that the people in charge of the club know their football, and they’ve done just that.
INEOS poached Omar Berrada from Manchester City to become their CEO, while Dan Ashworth, Jason Wilcox, and Christopher Vivell were hired to be the team’s sporting, technical, and recruitment directors.
It took them a while, but Manchester United got Ashworth after a long dispute with Newcastle United. Ashworth, who had stints at Brighton and Newcastle United, was put on gardening leave amid interest from the Red Devils. But after some time, he was finally let go by the Magpies.
The new chain of command ensures that Erik ten Hag will focus mainly on coaching rather than wearing different hats like last season.
They’ve been proactive in the transfer market
Upon installing the new football structure, Sir Jim Ratcliffe said that it might take Manchester United “two to three transfer windows” to fully rebuild the squad. But given the rate at which they’ve been going lately, this summer alone might be enough.
Fans are used to seeing protracted transfer sagas that often led to panic buys, but that seems not to be the case this time, as they’ve already secured two of their top targets.
Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro are the first two additions made by INEOS, and they’re already training with the team ahead of the preseason tour. The best thing about their acquisitions is that both of them are still young, and the Red Devils got them for a fair price.
There’s still more work to be done for Manchester United, though, as they still have to sell a couple more players to fund their upcoming transfers.
Manchester United are said to be looking at Manuel Ugarte, Mattihijs de Ligt, and Jarrad Branthwaite in their crosshairs. As much as the team wants to bring them all in at once, the Red Devils have to abide by the FFP rules and regulations.
The Red Devils have already started reducing their deadwood by selling Mason Greenwood to Marseille, Willy Kambwala to Villarreal, and Donny van de Beek to Girona, among others.
Scott McTominay, Victor Lindelof, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are all expected to be next in line, although the club has yet to receive tangible offers for each of them.
Do the Red Devils have a shot at the title?
Manchester United aren’t expected to win the Premier League next season, especially with Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool still there. However, if they kick off the new campaign with a positive run of Premier League 2024 results, then fans may start to believe in the possibility.
One of the biggest reasons why Manchester United were horrific last term is because of the injury bug. Hopefully, with the new players coming in and a healthy preseason training camp, the Red Devils will have enough depth to see the season through.
While the Red Devils have their holdovers in captain Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Andre Onana, and Diogo Dalot, among others, it’s their youngsters in Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo, and Rasmus Hojlund who will likely dictate the team’s trajectory.
Right now, Manchester United will continue to work in the shadows, ready to pounce on the opportunity if the contenders slip up.
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