Manchester United came into the summer transfer window that they needed a major rebuild of their squad. On one hand, they had not won a single trophy in five seasons and even failed to qualify for the Champions League last season, as a result of finishing sixth in the Premier League. On the other hand, they saw players like Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and others leave, furthering weakening their ranks.
If Erik ten Hag is to have any chance of succeeding as a Manchester United manager, he will need to have a squad capable of competing for titles.
The Red Devils have made a few signings this summer already in the form of Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez, but they need to do more.
Also, it looks like they still have a couple of priority positions that they will need to fill. As reported by GIVEMESPORT, Dharmesh Sheth said:
"“Two of the priority positions that we were told from the outset was central midfield and along the forward line, and those two positions I guess, you could say are still to be filled.”"
Manchester United’s two priorities this summer
It is not hard to see why central midfield would be a position of priority for Manchester United. It has been viewed as an area of weakness for a long time and with Pogba and Matic also leaving, there is need for immediate reinforcements there.
The club have been heavily linked with a move for Frenkie de Jong but those negotiations have dragged on for longer than anybody could have expected. Thus, if things are not resolved soon, Ten Hag might have to turn towards other targets.
On the other hand, Manchester United struggled going forward last season despite having some of the biggest names in Europe in their ranks. Anthony Martial has shown a lot of promise in pre-season but the club could definitely do with another to quality option there and have been linked with Antony of Ajax.