Manchester United line up before a pre-season friendly
Do Manchester United have enough firepower?
While it’s been a relatively busy summer for Manchester United in terms of big name signings, there are still a number of areas of Louis van Gaal’s squad that need addressing. The lack of depth in the centre of defence is something that will be concerning United fans as we head into the new Premier League season, but maybe not as much as the lack of strikers currently at LVG’s disposal. Having made the unsurprising decision to not sign Radamel Falcao on a permanent deal following his dismal loan spell, United also allowed Robin van Persie to join Turkish side Fenerbahce right before pre-season, leaving the United manager with a limited number of options up front.
Currently priced at around 5/1 with 32Red and 888sport to win the title next season, United are still viewed as being some way behind the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and even Arsenal in terms of competing at the top of the table in 2015/16. Much of this has to do with how they have conducted themselves in the transfer market so far this summer. While the signings of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Matteo Darmian and Memphis Depay have all been received well by United fans, there are questions remaining as to just what LVG plans to do for goals.
For all Depay’s attacking threat, he is far from being an out-and-out frontman, leaving just Wayne Rooney, James Wilson and the returning Javier Hernandez as the club’s only recognised strikers. Despite United being linked with a move for Juventus forward Fernando Llorente this summer, Van Gaal has hinted he might end up not signing another frontman before the start of the new campaign. If the United boss did stick with what he has, there wouldn’t be many tipping this squad to have anywhere near enough goals in them to be able to compete for the title this year.
But would that be true, though? Before writing off United’s current attacking threat, let’s take a closer look at the strikers who are at the club.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney: The fact is that United still have one of England’s most talented strikers of a generation at their disposal and that is why the likes of 32Red have Rooney at around 16/1 to be the Premier League s top scorer in 2015/16. The problem has been Van Gaal’s tendency to play the England captain in more of a midfield role than as an out-and-out goalscorer.
If the club are going to achieve anything this season, it seems as though Rooney is going to have to revert to his traditional role as a forward. Despite playing out of position for much of the past five years, Rooney has still managed to record double figures in the league each season. If he is given the freedom to focus on goalscoring, United could well see the player who has twice racked up 25 goals in a Premier League campaign.
Javier Hernandez: The Mexican striker’s United career looked to be over this time last year when he was loaned out to Real Madrid following Van Gaal’s arrival at Old Trafford. On the back of a difficult season in Spain, though, Hernandez is back in England and seemingly set for another chance to establish himself in the plans of the United manager. With just a year left on his contract, it looks as though the club are willing to allow the 27-year-old’s deal run-out in a bid to discover whether he can provide anything to the squad this season. While the lively forward has shown during his time at Old Trafford that he can score some very useful goals, Hernandez now needs to do it on a regular basis.
The signing of Bastian Schweinsteiger has impressed many fans
James Wilson: In what could be a make-or-break season for the young Englishman, Wilson is highly-thought of at Old Trafford and Van Gaal’s reluctance to replace Falcao and Van Persie could well be down to his confidence in the striker’s ability. The 19-year-old has never been loaned out by United, with the club’s management instead deciding to keep Wilson in and around the first-team squad despite his limited chances. Last season saw the England Under-20 international make 13 Premier League appearances, scoring against QPR and further enhancing his growing reputation. Having scored at a prolific rate throughout the United youth ranks, this could be the time Wilson steps up and announces himself as a Manchester United player.
