Manchester United’s 2021/22 season is a mess
Manchester United’s 2021/22 season has so far been a complete mess and is shaping up to be another trophy-less campaign.
In the Premier League, Manchester United have already gone down to 6e in the league and nine points behind current league leaders Chelsea.
The Red Devils also have the seal-14e worst defense in the Premier League at the time of writing and seems miles away from any sort of title challenge. That honor should instead go to Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool this quarter.
Elsewhere, Man United suffered a 3rd the exit of the League Cup at the hands of West Ham, putting them out of one of only two competitions they realistically had a chance of winning in 2021/22.
Only the FA Cup remains, which only starts in January for Premier League clubs, and the Champions League.
And at the moment, it doesn’t look like the Manchester side have any chance of progressing deep into the Champions League this campaign.
They were drawn in a fairly small group that has none of the traditional heavyweights. And while United are currently leading their group by goal difference, they are struggling to win and have had to rely on Cristiano Ronaldo to bail them out three times already.
Solskjaer stays put?
One obvious solution to Manchester United’s woes would be to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
However, despite another embarrassing display against rivals Manchester City on Saturday, United reportedly have no plans to replace the Norwegian:
BREAKAGE: #MUFC has no plans to replace manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer despite Saturday’s loss in the Manchester derby ❌
– Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 8, 2021
4 players Manchester United should sign to help save their season
So if Man United won’t replace their manager, the only real solution to trying to save their season seems to be the January transfer window, in which United can sign players to tackle weaker areas of their squad.
And, at 101, we have selected four players Manchester United are expected to sign in January to help save their season.
Kieran Trippier, Atlético Madrid
The first of these is Atletico Madrid and England star Kieran Trippier.
Manchester United have already been linked with the defender earlier this year, but he would undoubtedly be an improvement on their current squad.
Trippier, 31, has extensive experience in both the Premier League and La Liga, the latter of which he won last season with Atletico.
He is also currently coached by one of the best defensive managers in the world in the form of Diego Simeone and would undoubtedly bring much needed stability to United’s backline.
Trippier is also much better than current Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Another reason Trippier would likely be a huge upgrade for United is his versatility. The Englishman impressed in both a back-five and four, and as Man United are experimenting with a back-five recently, the addition of Trippier would provide a much better right-back option while potentially allowing Wan-Bissaka to be moved into a right-side center-back role – something his more defensive-oriented style of play would likely suit.
Aurélien Tchouameni, AS Monaco
Another player Manchester United are expected to target in January is AS Monaco’s Aurélien Tchouameni.
Despite being only 21 years old, Tchouameni has already demonstrated his abilities as a very capable defensive midfielder, which Manchester United are claiming.
For Monaco, Tchouameni would rank first in the entire Ligue 1 for interceptions and tackles during the 2020/21 season. And so far this quarter, the youngster ranks 3rd for most interceptions and tackles from all Ligue 1 midfielders.
Perhaps the main reason Man United should be looking to sign Tchouameni is that he has already shown France that he can form an effective partnership with Paul Pogba, which none of the current midfielders of United apparently can not do.
Franck Kessie, AC Milan
Considering Tchouameni’s age and potential, it seems fair to assume that Monaco would demand a large sum for him.
Thus, Manchester United could be forced to look elsewhere for a central midfielder.
And, in AC Milan’s Franck Kessie, they are expected to fine an effective DM who, thanks to his contract expiring in 2022, is expected to cost a fraction of what it’s actually worth.
The Ivorian is a calming presence in midfield, able to control the game in depth and is a very effective tackler – ranked 7e for tackles and interceptions of all Serie A midfielders last season.
Alessio Romagnoli, AC Milan
The last player Manchester United are expected to be looking to sign in January is Alessio Romagnoli.
The Italian is a central defender. And although United have two world-class center-backs in the form of Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire, their options outside of that are very limited.
And if Solskjaer continues to deploy a back-five, United are likely to need another high-quality center-back and Romagnoli could be that man.
The 26-year-old is said to provide much-needed leadership to the United squad and, like Kessie, could be available on the cheap due to his contract expiring in 2022.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | deputy | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea fc | 11 | 23 | 26 |
| 2 | Manchester city | 11 | 16 | 23 |
| 3 | West Ham United | 11 | ten | 23 |
| 4 | Liverpool fc | 11 | 20 | 22 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 11 | 0 | 20 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 11 | 2 | 17 |
| 7 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 11 | 0 | 17 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 11 | -1 | 16 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 11 | -7 | 16 |
| ten | Crystal Palace | 11 | 1 | 15 |
| 11 | Everton FC | 11 | 0 | 15 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 11 | -2 | 15 |
| 13 | Southampton fc | 11 | -2 | 14 |
| 14 | Brentford FC | 11 | -1 | 12 |
| 15 | Leeds United | 11 | -7 | 11 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 11 | -6 | ten |
| 17 | Watford FC | 11 | -7 | ten |
| 18 | Burnley FC | 11 | -6 | 8 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 11 | -12 | 5 |
| 20 | City of Norwich | 11 | -21 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool fc | ten |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool fc | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea fc | 4 |
| Smith Rowe, Émile | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 4 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 4 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 4 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 4 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool fc | 4 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool fc | 4 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United | 4 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton and Hove Albion | 4 |
| Cornet, Maxwel | Burnley FC | 4 |
| Hwang, Hee-chan | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4 |
| Player | Team | Red cards | Yellow cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 4 |
| Denis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 5 |
| Skipp, Olivier | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 5 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 4 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 4 |
| Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 4 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 4 |
| Ritchie, Matt | Newcastle United | 0 | 4 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton and Hove Albion | 0 | 4 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 4 |
| Laporte, Aymeric | Manchester city | 1 | 3 |
| Shaw, Luc | Manchester United | 0 | 4 |
| Veltman, Joel | Brighton and Hove Albion | 0 | 4 |
| Fred | Manchester United | 0 | 4 |
| Ming, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 4 |
| Lallana, Adam | Brighton and Hove Albion | 0 | 4 |
| Lascelles, Jamaal | Newcastle United | 0 | 4 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 4 |
| Romero, Cristian | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 4 |
| Sambi Lokonga, Albert | Arsenal FC | 0 | 4 |
| Player | Team | Help |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool fc | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester city | 5 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea fc | 5 |
| Doucouré, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 4 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 4 |
| Alexandre-Arnold, Trento | Liverpool fc | 4 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 3 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea fc | 3 |
| Benrahma, says | West Ham United | 3 |
| Denis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 3 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 3 |
| Lowton, Matthew | Burnley FC | 3 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 3 |
| Smith Rowe, Émile | Arsenal FC | 2 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| King, Joshua | Watford FC | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
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