With the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United are title contenders this season. Jadon Sancho has finally arrived at Old Trafford after weeks of speculation and United have filled the much sought after right-winger position. Raphael Varane is definitely an upgrade over Victor Lindelof and he will help strengthen a leaky defence.All these players would walk into the first XI but a key area in which United haven't invested is in the middle of the park. The lack of a proper defensive midfielder has hindered United many times in the past. They just cannot unlock teams that deploy a low block and invite pressure onto them.
Solskjaer has turned the Red Devils into a counter-attacking machine with the pace of Rashford and Martial and the creativity of Fernandes and Pogba. But these players need time and space to operate effectively. This has proved to be their downfall against the smaller teams who are happy to just sit back and defend.This has hampered United since Solskjaer took over as permanent manager in the 2019/20 season. They struggled to beat teams below them in the table while comfortably defeating the top teams. The problem was somewhat reduced to an extent with the arrival of Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba, who returned from injury.
The problem resurfaced again last season, especially when they lost Pogba through injury in January. United were in the title race until then but eventually lost out to Manchester City. There were warning signs even in the last two games where they limped to a 1-1 draw against Southampton and just scraped through against Wolves.Solskjaer likes to use a 4-2-3-1 formation with two defensive midfielders shielding the back four. The two midfielders have been Fred and McTominay, who possess limited passing range to split opposition defenses. This has limited their threat going forward with four attack-minded players.
With the arrival of Raphael Varane strengthening the defense, many have predicted that Solskjaer will use just one defensive midfielder. The Norwegian did just that against Wolves with Fred as the lone sitting midfielder. But United looked shaky and lacked control throughout the game and were lucky to come out with a win.Solskjaer tried to use Pogba as one of the two sitting midfielders but he doesn't seem to have the discipline needed to fill the role. Former United players Roy Keane and Gary Neville have spoken about how United are still one signing away from challenging for the league titleSpeaking on Sky Sports' The Overlap fan debate, Keane explained:
I still think they need someone in the middle of the park. They’ve got Fred obviously, Scott McTominay is a good young player who is improving. There’s talk of United changing the system and going to a 4-3-3. The middle of the park worries me for United."I think McTominay’s okay and Fred’s okay, Matic as well, but I share the concern. If they can sign a world-class holding midfield player, yes. But they won’t sign a world-class holding midfield player, they’re not going to spend another £50m or £60m or £70m. They’re done. It’s a problem.
The warning signs are there for United and Solskjaer and he needs to find a solution quickly if United are to challenge for the league again.