da leao： The transfer window is now shut, and clubs will now have to make do and mend their squads until the winter window in January.
da bet esporte： Whether or not that’s a good thing depends on the business you feel your club has done so far in the window.
If you’re a Manchester United fan, you’ll probably be one of the happiest in the league. At least in terms of working the market, United have done the most impressive business, and even if you feel that your club has overspent or bought players who will keep youngsters out of the starting XI, you’d probably still have to concede that United have made waves this summer.
A look at the starting XI your club could have had, however, does still throw up some weaknesses in the United squad for the moment – areas that will probably need to be strengthened in the coming months.
Still, it’s a work in progress, and United have done stellar business so far. Here, though, is what you could have won, United fans…
David De Gea
A fairly obvious one, really. David de Gea is arguably the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, and despite deadline day drama this time last year, De Gea’s position as Manchester United number one is firmly secured this time.
Over the past few seasons, De Gea has been a bedrock of United’s team for a long time, and over the past few seasons he has not only been Manchester United’s play of the year, but he has also saved them from some embarrassing score lines.
Fabinho
Manchester United have spent over £150m and are still playing Antonio Valencia at full back.
To be fair to Jose Mourinho, the Manchester United squad he inherited needed quite a bit of work, and he spent the summer creating a solid spine in the side.
That doesn’t mean that a better right back than Valencia could have been found if United had really wanted to, and with Matteo Darmian seemingly out of favour, why not splash out on another full back? You’d imagine they will at some point very soon.
Chris Smalling
Smalling’s place was never really in doubt. He is arguably the biggest success story of the Louis van Gaal era, even if the explosiveness of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are perhaps more exciting.
Smalling has solidified his place as Manchester United and England’s main central defender and that shows no signs of changing this season.
Eric Bailly
The new man has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water. He looks composed, strong and positionally aware. So far, he looks like money well spent, and alongside the strength of Smalling, Bailly’s composure will be an asset to United.
Luke Shaw
Thankfully back from a horrific leg break, Shaw is beginning to come into his own at left back. Although he was out for most of the season and missed the Euros, Shaw wasn’t totally a forgotten man: there was no serious thinking about replacing him when Mourinho came into the club and he’ll be United’s left back for years to come.
Paul Pogba
Surely the signing of the summer, Paul Pogba is undoubtedly one of the hottest prospects in the world. By the reckoning of many, he’s a future Ballon d’Or winner. He has personality on and off the pitch, he makes the midfield better and he makes Manchester United better.
He’s not quite the finished article just yet, but you wouldn’t want him to be. He’ll get better, he’ll grow as a player, and in a couple of years he really will be at the top of the game if he isn’t already.
Blaise Matuidi
Alongside Pogba, Manchester United currently have Marouane Fellaini. And although Fellaini is probably exactly the kind of player you’d expect Jose Mourinho to love, surely there are better midfield options in world football.
Mourinho bought one of them in Pogba, but playing alongside Matuidi for both club and country could really see Pogba shine in a midfield with the power to outdo almost any team in the league.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
We haven’t seen too much of the flying winger so far this season, but it’s only a matter of time before Mkhitaryan settles into life in England and provides the service for Zlatan Ibrahimovic that saw the former Dortmund star get the most assists in the Bundesliga last season.
James Rodriguez
If United were being greedy, perhaps it’s a player like James Rodriguez they’d have tried to attract to the club.
With Wayne Rooney’s powers fading somewhat, James Rodriguez would fit very nicely into the number 10 role in front of the two midfielders and add an energy and a creativity that Rooney doesn’t seem to have any more.
Anthony Martial
Despite all the money spent at United, it feels like last season’s standout pair, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are the most exciting in the whole team.
Martial’s transfer on deadline day last year caused a lot of chatter, and a lot of glee from rival fans about a huge transfer fee for an unproven teenager.
Well they’ve been proved wrong by Martial, and this season, we can expect him to look very comfortable indeed alongside his more illustrious teammates.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Is there a striker in the world you’d rather have in your team than this man? From a footballing perspective, a business perspective, and from a mentoring young players perspective, Zlatan has it all.
There’s no one you’d rather have in his position – certainly if you don’t take Ronaldo and Messi to be strikers in the traditional sense – and United got him on a free. Kudos to you, Ed Woodward.