After 12 long weekends without Premier League football, the greatest league in the world is finally back.
In what is now the fifth new era since the retirement of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Erik ten Hag will take the helm at Old Trafford after leaving Ajax.
Ahead of what is arguably Manchester United’s most important season in the past decade, let's look at the season ahead.
• Last season
The 2021/22 season was one of the worst in recent memory for United - having a permanent, caretaker, and interim manager in the space of six months - making it five seasons in a row without silverware.
Despite a promising 5-1 victory at home to Leeds United on opening day, the re-signing of club legend Cristiano Ronaldo, and taking 13 out of the first possible 15 points in the league, the season - and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign - soon unravelled.
Taking a shocking 4 points from the next possible 21 (including a 5-0 home loss to bitter rivals Liverpool) Solskjaer’s men lost 4-1 to a relegation battling Watford side, resulting in the Norwegian being sacked the following day, bringing an end to a three-year experiment that never really worked out.
A three-game unbeaten stint under caretaker manager, and former player, Michael Carrick was ironically the best football seen at Old Trafford all season, including a draw and victory against Chelsea and Arsenal in the league respectively.
On 29th November 2021 German Ralf Rangnick was appointed as interim manager until the end of the season. The idea was for Rangnick to join the board as an ‘advisor’ come the end of the season due to his previous success as a sporting director at the Red Bull clubs.
What followed was some of the worst football in the post-Ferguson era, per the Premier League official website, United had a Premier League win rate of merely 41% under Rangnick. The German decided to give up on his advisory role to take the managerial position with the Austrian national team.
• Manager
The beginning of the new season marks the arrival of Dutchman Erik Ten Hag as the club’s new manager. The 52-year-old comes in with a good reputation, winning three Eredivisie league titles, two KNVB Cups, and reaching a UEFA Champions League semi-final in his five-year spell at Ajax.
Ten Hag’s attacking style suits what is required at Old Trafford, via planetfootball, after 207 games in charge his Ajax side had scored a whopping 570 goals, at a rate of 2.75 goals per game.
His system of choice in the Netherlands was predominantly a 4-3-3, with one holding midfielder doing the defensive work with two more attacking, creative, midfielders tasked with going forward. Ten Hag has also experimented with a 4-3-1-2, also known as a diamond in midfield, with two strikers up top.
However, in pre-season a 4-2-3-1 has been the way forward, perhaps the continued pursuit of fellow Dutchman Frenkie De Jong hints that a lack of midfielders with the Ten Hag seal of approval is the reasoning for the formation switch.
• New signings
After a frustrating start to the summer, United finally made their first signing of the new era by bringing in 22-year-old left-back Tyrell Malacia, in a deal worth an initial fee of just £13m. Malacia joined from Dutch club Feyenoord, after the new United manager spotted him in a fixture against him in his time at Ajax. The signing makes Malacia the fourth left-back in the squad after Luke Shaw, Alex Telles, and Brandon Williams. Telles and Williams are expected to be sold and loaned respectively, with the new signing playing back-up to the injury-prone Shaw.
Just 10 days later creative midfielder Christian Eriksen was announced on a free transfer on 15th July. The Denmark international had left Brentford at the end of his six-month deal, and United beat the London club in the race for his signature. Since his arrival in January, Eriksen created the third most chances in the Premier League creating a phenomenal 30 chances in just 11 appearances, for reference that is only 12 less (42) than Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne in that time. Whatever happens, he will be loved at Old Trafford with this being the next step in his fabulous comeback story after suffering a heart attack at Euro 2020.
The United hierarchy made up for their slow start by announcing that they had agreed a fee in the region of £47m with Ajax for defender Lisandro Martinez. The Argentine was well known to Ten Hag and has now effectively followed him to Old Trafford. The club had been after a left-footed central defender for several years to play alongside Harry Maguire and now Raphael Varane, as predominantly a centre-back Martinez fills that gap. Despite his height – standing at just 5 foot 9 inches - Opta stats show he averaged 5.4 ariel duels per 90 last season, winning 3.8 of those, meaning he had an ariel duel success rate of 70.18%, perhaps showing that height isn’t everything. Furthermore, he can also fill in at left-back, as well as holding midfield.
• Outgoings
Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba have all left the club after their current deals expired - with the latter trio joining Nottingham Forest, Roma, and Juventus respectively, Cavani and Mata are both still without a club. Andreas Pereira has also left for newly promoted Fulham in a deal worth £8.5m.
Interestingly, Ten Hag has publicly stated that the source of the dressing room leaks from last season has now left the club, meaning the perpetrator was one of the six players stated above.
Back-up goalkeeper Dean Henderson has joined Nottingham Forest on loan in the hunt for more regular Premier League minutes. Many believe he has the potential to replace United legend David De Gea as the club’s number one, perhaps this move could be the final step in his development.
• Strongest Starting XI
Let’s run through the starting line-up that could provide the best chance for Ten Hag to take the Red Devils back to the top of the Premier League.
- Goalkeeper: David De Gea
- Right-Back: Diogo Dalot
- Centre-Back: Raphael Varane
- Centre-Back: Lisandro Martinez
- Left-Back: Tyrell Malacia
- Holding Midfield: Fred
- Centre Midfield: Christian Eriksen
- Centre Midfield: Bruno Fernandes
- Right Wing: Jadon Sancho
- Left Wing: Marcus Rashford
- Striker: Anthony Martial
• Three talking points
1) Frenkie De Jong – After beginning their hunt for De Jong in early May, United have now astonishingly been pursuing the Dutchman for three months. £17m of deferred wages from current club Barcelona is a major stumbling block, but more worrying is De Jong’s apparent lack of interest in joining. Should the club really begin the new era with a marquee signing being forced to join?
2) Erik ten Hag – Despite his success in the Dutch league, the Premier League is the greatest league in the world and a totally different kettle of fish. The jury still seems to be somewhat out on Ten Hag, according to the SkyBet Fan Hope Survey 9% of fans from Premier League clubs voted him as the worst manager in the league – only Everton manager Frank Lampard received more votes with 22%. United fans seem to be more behind their manager than rival fans, but they will need to be patient and give their new man time to launch this new era.
3) Top 4? – With rivals Tottenham signing a massive six new players (five permanently and one loan) and Arsenal adding to their forward line with Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, United could well be left behind in the top four race. Antonio Conte now has his own players and will inevitably turn Spurs into a top side, whilst Arsenal have been fantastic in pre-season with Jesus leading the line brilliantly. The Glazers will need to put their hands in their pockets at least once more in the coming weeks to improve their chances of a Champions League place next season.
• Expected finish
Expect a slow start from United as Ten Hag continues to adjust to his new team and the Premier League. They looked fantastic going forward in pre-season, but the defence and defensive midfield is still a major flaw. Martinez could solve some defensive issues along with the eventual signing of De Jong if it can be pulled off, but there are more reinforcements needed in this window. United fans and everyone involved with the club must stick with the new man and trust Ten Hag, relying on his abilities United may just sneak into the final Champions League spot – 4th.