Manchester United: Who Will Lead the Line Next Season?

Let's look ahead to the upcoming season in the Premiership and analyze Manchester United's attacking force.

With the league only getting stronger since the uprising of City, Spurs, and Villa, the big-four need to improve in every respect if they hope to continue their domination at the top.

We have seen the fall-out of Liverpool, as they look to rebuild after a devastating last season.

Look at the other three: United, Chelsea, and Arsenal, we can safely say Chelsea seem the strongest. Good depth in the squad with quality and the experienced players are hungry for more success.

Arsenal seem to be heading downwards, very weak defensively and lacking experience in the middle, but a few good signings could change everything. They need a mixture of both youth and experience if they want to be a top team.

As for Manchester United, next season could be more of the same, finishing second or third, or they can improve and strengthen the force and look to challenge for the title.

Again and again we look at United and say they have a huge squad, but over the last two years or so it seems a certain amount of quality has been removed. While there's a lot of players, they are all not good enough.

Our biggest worry is upfront, we all expect a tough and hard season with the front man having to work extra hard to ensure we get results.

So who will lead the line? It seems like a simple question when you look how many strikers or forwards we have—right?

Wayne Rooney will be the first name, but taking into consideration the season he already had, the World Cup and him needed some kind of break afterwards. It may be premature, but I can see Rooney missing the first couple games.

Rooney doesn't seem his usual self, whether it's his ankle troubling him or having been over-worked, we can't say.

Personally, I think he will need treatment on his ankle which could see him out for a while; rehabilitating that and getting back to match fitness could take some time.

Many would suggest that United have bought a new striker so there's not a problem. Well, he's still young and very inexperienced. Also, he will look to have a break after the World Cup. Javier Hernandez is his name, he looks promising and could be perfect to United's cause. It will be interesting to see how he and Rooney play together.

Somehow I feel he will be more beneficial if he plays alongside Berbatov.

Reports suggest that Fredrico Macheda could be on his way out for a loan spell, nothing is official but he is another youngster with immense potential. He will look to find his form after an injury prone season, which found him in and out of the team.

How about Michael Owen? This could be his year.

The pressure of impressing Capello will be a major factor as the World Cup will be off his mind. This could be his last season in top flight, so he could be the special answer for Fergie.

I think Dimitar Berbatov will be fresh and raring to go next season. After speculation that he could be on his way out, it seems he will stay and fight on for a place in the starting eleven.

Berbatov hasn't found the form he had when he left Spurs, but with a leading role at the start of the season, he could be the missing link in United's attack. 

Many reports are linking players with United, and that will always be the case with good players and big clubs. I feel United will buy one more player, and I'm of the opinion that it will be a forward.

The most likely players to join United would be:

• Karim Benzema
• Sergio Aguero
• Joe Cole
• Gonzo (Paulo Hernandez)

It's obvious not all, but at least one of them would add a great deal to Manchester.