Manchester United 2015/2016 Premier League Preview

Baba Bob-Soile – @Baba_BS

Best Player:

The season starts soon and David De Gea is still a Manchester United player and the team’s most important player. His performances over the past couple of seasons have led to back to back club Player of the Year awards. Hopefully he stays till the end of the window but if he happens to leave, it will be a battle among club captain Wayne Rooney, Ander Herrera and Ashley Young.

Weak Links:

The central defence is still a problem area for the side. Chris Smalling had a good season last time round and we hope he carries the form into the new campaign. It is highly likely that Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo will get injured so one solid centre back is not good enough for a team of our calibre. Van Gaal has planned to play Daley Blind in the position because of his ability to build up play but the Dutchman looks too weak, too slow and too small for the position. Another problem we may have to deal with this season is the struggle to break down teams that park the bus.

Manager:

I think Louis van Gaal is laying down a good foundation for the managers that will come after him. He is bringing a good balance to Ferguson’s lopsided team. However I feel that sometimes he needs to be more pragmatic and diplomatic like his counterpart Jose Mourinho.

Expectations:

The race for the title will be one of the closest this year and will down to the wire. I think we will come second or third and be very close to the title. We need to have a very good start to this season.

Thoughts on the Transfer Window:

I’m very pleased with the deals concluded this window. The signings of Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger have sorted out all our midfield issues. Depay brings pace and guile that was heavily missed with Di Maria’s soured form. Matteo Darmian’s signing will provide good competition for Antonio Valencia at right back. It’s a shame Di Maria is leaving but if reports are true Pedro will be an adequate replacement. I am pleased with our options going forward and hope some of the kids are given a chance. There’s still the need to sign an established centre back especially if De Gea leaves.

Player likely to break through:

I expect Adnan Januzaj, Luke Shaw and Memphis Depay to have great seasons but I do not believe such should be considered as breaking through. That’s why I’m tipping Andreas Pereira. It may be difficult for him with the competition for attacking midfield places but I think he will have a solid impact.

First Image courtesy skysports.com

Second Image courtesy mirror.co.uk