IT is a season when Manchester United really need to hit the ground running.
Yet all the signs from inside Carrington suggest they are still trying to find their feet.
RexTen Hag is getting his excuses in early[/caption]
It felt like a case of getting the excuses in first before they take on Fulham in tonight’s Premier League season opener.
Late arrivals back from major tournaments, new signings and the usual injuries are all in the mix.
For starters, they begin tonight’s game without a recognised striker, a problem the club have had for too long.
Rasmus Hojlund struggled in his first season and was injured just 13 minutes into the tour of the United States last month.
Joshua Zirkzee has been brought in and yet manager Erik ten Hag is reluctant to start him because of his lack of a pre-season.
Ten Hag wants to use the new striker as a substitute for now while he builds up his match fitness after being away in the Euros but playing only four minutes for Holland.
So United go into the new season playing a false nine system, as they did in the Community Shield shootout defeat to champions Manchester City, with Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount in the middle of a front four.
Still, Ten Hag is sure that from Zirkzee, 23, and 21-year-old Hojlund, fans will see an out-and-out striker worthy of the United shirt.
GettyTen Hag may have to rely on Zirkzee in the early part of the season[/caption]
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The club have not really had that since Romelu Lukaku fired 27 goals in 51 games in 2017-18.
That has almost been negligent on the club’s part.
Ten Hag said: “We have two young men, in Hojlund and Zirkzee, who have the potential to grow into top-class strikers.”
Zirkzee was not even used as a sub in the Community Shield.
But Ten Hag says the frontman, signed from Bologna, will soon be on display, if not from the start tonight.
He said: “We don’t have a pre-season with him so we need games to bring him on.
“If you see his background in the last months, he had an injury with Bologna. In the end he made the selection for the Netherlands, so that helped him out of our first few weeks of pre-season, so no games. That is his problem in this moment.
“Now it is his third week in training, you see him stepping up.
“His fitness levels are improving and he needs more minutes — and we can’t do it in a friendly, it has to go into the league.”
No club in the top half of the Prem scored fewer than United’s 57 goals last season.
Why De Ligt is the perfect Man Utd signing
By Lee Scott
One of Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag’s biggest headaches has been fixing their leaky defence.
Despite still not being anywhere near his peak years De Ligt has built considerable experience so far in his career with Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich and he has 45 caps at senior level for the Dutch national team.
While he is not necessarily a highly modern ball playing type of defensive player he is a player with the defensive strengths and instincts to help shore up a United defence that was, at best, leaky last season.
He has a great ability to read the game which was one of the biggest issues that we saw from the United defensive unit last season.
De Ligt is also a master in one-on-one situations, who shows strength and intensity in his duels.
The Dutch star does a good job in keeping things simple and tends to make good decisions in possession.
The pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt makes perfect sense for United and for Ten Hag as a young defender who is still to reach his peak.
He has considerable experience at a high level and he understands the game model and system of play of the manager.
Click here to read our full analysis on De Ligt joining Manchester United.
So whoever is playing up top, or whatever system they are using, that has to improve or they will not be making ground back into the top four.
Ten Hag said: “We can score more goals. We create many chances and it’s about being clinical.
“We have to improve. We create so many chances but we have to take them and we have players with scoring abilities enough in the team.
“We have to be more clinical there, more aggressive as well.”
Ten Hag has strengthened at the other end of the pitch.
New signings Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui joined the club this week in a combined £75million transfer from Bayern Munich.
The two defenders will go straight into the squad for the game against Fulham.
Harry Maguire has been pronounced fit as well.
GettyDe Ligt and Mazraoui have strengthened United’s defence[/caption]
Nine managers Man Utd considered before keeping Erik ten Hag
ERIK TEN HAG appears to be safe as Man Utd manager, but the Dutchman edged dangerously close to the sack.
Here are nine managers Red Devils chiefs are reported to have considered for the job and what allegedly happened with each.
Gareth Southgate
Enjoys plenty of support among Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos chiefs but made clear he wouldn’t talk to any clubs until after Euro 2024. There is yet to be any suggestion that contact was made with the England boss.
Kieran McKenna
Talks were opened with McKenna’s representatives before the FA Cup final, but the former Man Utd coach opted to sign a new deal with Ipswich after Ten Hag’s Wembley win.
Roberto De Zerbi
Allegedly sounded out before the FA Cup final with salary expectations discussed. But Ineos chiefs concluded ex-Brighton boss was not the right fit for the project.
Thomas Frank
Brentford boss met Man Utd representatives the day before the FA Cup final. The Dane also dined with Ratcliffe, Roy Hodgson and Frank Lampard at the launch of a new Ineos car in February.
Marco Silva
Fulham boss reportedly met Man Utd representatives face-to-face two days before the FA Cup final, around the same time as Ten Hag was conducting his press conference.
Mauricio Pochettino
Fell out of Man Utd’s thinking in the first week of June, despite being a favourite of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Thomas Tuchel
Made a very strong impression and came across well during a Monaco meeting. Personal terms were discussed before the ex-Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss decided to step back from the process.
Ruben Amorim
Sporting boss was discussed by the Man Utd hierarchy but did not make the final reckoning.
Roberto Martinez
Portugal manager was considered in the early stages.
It is likely De Ligt will start alongside Maguire while Lisandro Martinez fills in at full-back again, as he did in the Community Shield.
But Mazraoui will be seen soon and Ten Hag is promising a very different type of full-back for the United fans to enjoy.
He said: “In English football there is always pressure on the ball and one of his key attributes is that it’s very difficult to put him under pressure.”
You could not really say for certain quite how the new Dutch revolution is going to fare from the off.
It really is a little piece of Holland at Carrington, with Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake now sat either side of Ten Hag on the bench.
There is also a new goalkeeping coach in Jelle ten Rouwelaar.
The new additions now mean that in two years at the helm, 11 of Ten Hag’s 20 signings have either been born in the Netherlands or played there.
Of those, six were at Ten Hag’s former club, Ajax.
But the boss says it is not just him who sees the qualities in those men from Holland.
He said: “All are club decisions, none of them is only my decision.
“It is always backed or even brought up through the scouting, recruitment, technical director, sporting director. It is a decision made by more than only one.”
Still, it will be down to him if it does not work.
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