Grading Manchester United on Their 2015 Summer Transfer Window Dealings
Manchester United's transfer window had a couple of glorious peaks, saw an apparently infinite number of players linked with the team and ultimately ended without the club addressing some vital areas in need of improvement.
Lots and lots of players have left the squad. Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie are the biggest names to have departed. In the next tier down come Nani, Javier Hernandez, Rafael da Silva and Jonny Evans—all players who have had their share of good and bad games for the club.
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Lots of young players have gone out on loan—the highest profile of which we will return to later.
Six new senior players have been brought in. That is the same number as last summer. There is a good blend of youth and experience in the arrivals, but it is hard not to feel that the many departures—and pre-existing issues—have left United short in a couple of key areas.
Let's take a look at each position on the pitch and see how the transfer window has affected it.
Goalkeeper
What a window it has been for United and goalkeepers.
Louis van Gaal made public his falling out with Victor Valdes, per Sky Sports. Valdes, though, has hung around anyway, apparently seeking to replace Anders Lindegaard in the 'keeper-on-United's-books-with-no-chance-of-playing category.
United signed Sergio Romero, a goalkeeper who has an infamous blooper reel on YouTube. Hardly a confidence-boosting signing for fans worried about David De Gea's seemingly impending departure.
Of course, the club then pulled off its most remarkable coup of the window—but by accident. There are conflicting reports from Real Madrid and United—as broken down here by Jamie Jackson and Sid Lowe in the Guardian—but what is known is that something went awry with the paperwork and David De Gea is still a United player.
This is wonderful news for the Red Devils, as De Gea is in a class of his own among United's 'keepers. It is one of the best outcomes of the window for United and definitely bumps up the overall grade.
As a goalkeeper-related postscript, Sam Johnstone's agent, Jordan Segal, has criticised Van Gaal for holding the young stopper back, per Sam Cunningham of the Daily Mail.
Defence
No new centre-backs have been brought in. At the start of the transfer window, that would have seemed a very unlikely outcome. Indeed, two of the centre-backs who featured last season left—Evans permanently for West Bromwich Albion and Tyler Blackett on loan to Celtic.
Chris Smalling and Daley Blind have been the first-choice partnership so far this season. Behind them in the squad sit Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Paddy McNair. With Jones and Smalling both having significant histories of injury trouble, that looks a little light in terms of numbers.
It also, frankly, still looks a little light in terms of quality. Van Gaal may be convinced Blind is the future of United's centre-half position, but few fans are. His performance against Swansea City showed up some of the areas of concern that had previously not been exposed this season.
Smalling has continued his excellent form from the end of last season. Rojo will hopefully get back to full fitness and add some additional steel, but that collection of players could really do with a proven superstar defender in its midst.
Fortunately, there are no such issues at full-back. While Luke Shaw looks revitalised on the left, Matteo Darmian's right-back performances so far have made his £12.7 million transfer fee look like one of the bargains of the summer.
The Italy international has taken to United like a duck to water and easily displaced Antonio Valencia from the position. Losing Rafael was an emotional blow for fans, among whom he was a very popular figure, but from a footballing perspective, Darmian looks a very astute signing.
Midfield
Here, United now have an embarrassment of riches. In Bastian Schweinsteiger, the club have finally brought in a true midfield leader, an eventual and sought-after heir to Roy Keane.
They may have been a decade late with that replacement but are clearly now attempting to think ahead, as in Morgan Schneiderlin, the club have brought in an heir to Michael Carrick.
They have strengthened their flexibility, brought in built-in injury cover, brought in a player who can help the young players in the squad through his leadership and brought in proven Premier League talent.
The centre of midfield is well-stocked with a very high level of talent, something United fans have not been able to say for many years.
Attacking Midfield/Support Forwards
The arrival of Memphis Depay has had a mixed impact so far. Devastating in the home leg of the Champions League play-off clash with Club Brugge, he has struggled in the league. This was surely to be expected of a young player making the step up from the Eredivisie.
What matters is how well he reacts. There were signs against Swansea he was perhaps already adapting, releasing the ball fractionally earlier—something he needs to do as he comes to terms with the fact Premier League defences will allow him less space and time than he has been used to.
Van Gaal has stressed the multi-functional attacking abilities of his other big-money signing of the summer, Anthony Martial, per the club's website.
The youngster will probably find himself playing in various spots across the attacking-midfield line over the course of the season. He is young and unproven at this level. Judging his transfer now seems premature.
While thinking long term and investing in youth is a sound strategy, it is hard not to think United needed proven talent at this point in their squad's cycle. Of course, if Martial develops into a world-beater, that assertion will look foolish.
Attacking midfield has also seen a huge draining of potential talent this summer. Nani, on his best days, was a player who made a big impact on United's fortunes. Sadly, there were fewer and fewer of those best days toward the end, and his inconsistency made him a poor fit for Van Gaal's side.
And speaking of poor fits for Van Gaal's side, Di Maria's departure hits the squad hard. While he did not play to anything like his capacity for United, he was still one of their most important attacking players last season.
Indeed, a creative and improvisational player of his ilk looks to be almost exactly what is missing from United's squad at the moment from an attacking perspective. It is an indictment of Van Gaal that he could not get the best out of such a talented player. It is an indictment of the player that he was unable to adapt to the club and the system.
United would have been better off with Di Maria than they are without him.
Adnan Januzaj's departure on loan to Borussia Dortmund for the season was another late-window surprise. He had been part of Van Gaal's starting XI for much of the season so far but apparently did not do enough to convince the manager he would play a key role this season.
Between losing Nani, Di Maria and Januzaj and failing to sign Pedro Rodriguez, United appear to have left themselves short in terms of numbers and quick, penetrative players in attacking midfield. Time will tell if those who are left behind can do the job.
Centre-forward
While the failure to address apparent needs at centre-back was unexpected, the way the centre-forward position has been handled over the summer is downright bizarre.
Van Persie and Hernandez were both sold. Falcao was allowed to leave. Each of those decisions seems logical when taken on its own merits. However, the cumulative effect of this summer's activity means that if Wayne Rooney does not have a good season—and Brugge aside, he has not done well so far—United have left themselves woefully short up front.
Marouane Fellaini can perhaps play there. Van Gaal played Januzaj as a No. 9 during pre-season, but he too is gone. James Wilson remained at the club and Martial can play centre-forward, but neither is a proven option.
Regardless of Rooney being out of sorts, what happens if he gets an injury?
United's dealings in this area are a huge knock against them and bring the grade down considerably.
The Grade
An odd cocktail of positives and negatives means the letter grade is a little hard to establish.
The grade has been arrived at by the following logic: At the beginning of the window, there was a need to strengthen central midfield, centre-half, right-back and centre-forward. Two of those positions have been strengthened, one has stayed the same and one has been weakened.
That brings the score out at an average, so the overall transfer window is worthy of a C. Accidentally holding onto De Gea bumps it up a bit, so in the end, United are getting a C+.
They must do better next time.
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