Man United’s summer spending spree: What the summer splurge on new foreign talent means for the future of United’s homegrown talent
Manchester United broke their transfer record to bring in superstar Angel Di Maria for £59.7m. The Red Devils made huge wavelengths in the summer market, spending over £150m on six new acquisitions, including Angel Di Maria and Ander Herrera, proving the club are still a powerhouse in world football and still able to attract the best players to the club despite no involvement in this season’s Champions League.
Aside for the £27m signing of young English left back Luke Shaw from Southampton, United have brought in overseas talent for big price tags and may continue to do so, which could eventually impact the promising homegrown talent desperate to break into the first team.
United’s summer signings
Ander Herrera (Spain) – £29m
Luke Shaw (England) – £27m
Angel Di Maria (Argentina) – £59.7m
Radamel Falcao (Colombia) – Season-long loan
Marcos Rojo (Argentina) – £16m
Daley Blind (Holland) – £13.8m
The influx of foreign talent in the Premier League is now a common sight and something FA Chairman Greg Dyke and England manager Roy Hodgson have highlighted as a major issue, as English players that feature for the national team are not regular starters for their domestic clubs, falling behind foreign stars.
Danny Welbeck is an example of a player that has been with the club from a young age and an England international, but the signing of Falcao and Rooney and Van Persie ahead of him meant he was frozen out at the club.
The Red Devils have a history of bringing in world class foreigners and blending them with home-grown players produced at the academy in the past, particularly in the Premier League era. For example, Eric Cantona cemented his place in Manchester United folk law in the 90’s, joining the club from Leeds in 1992, the same year the ‘class of 92,’ a once in a generation if you like, collection of young English talent began gradually coming through to the United first team. I think it is unlikely we will see an emergence of youngsters off the production that will rival the class of 92 unless there is a serious shake up of the rules on the amount of foreign players allowed in a squad at first team level and right down to academy level.
Young faces at the back
A summer shake-up left the club with a unfamiliar back four after the departure of experienced defenders Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra leaving United a little short at the back until the signings of full back Marcos Rojo and versatile defensive player Daley Blind.
Van Gaal’s early season preference of three centre backs had opened up opportunities for young defenders Kyle Blackett, Michael Keane and Reece James to compete with Johnny Evans, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. Van Gaal’s recent change to a 4-4-2 formation and the temptation to buy a world class centre back in January may affect the chances of regular first team action.
We saw glimpses of Blackett, Keane and James during pre-season when Man United were impressive, but we’ve seen with Blackett, especially in the 5-3 defeat at Leicester, that this league is a difficult learning curve. England U21 regular Michael Keane is more than capable of eventually claiming a spot at the back, but he’s currently out on loan at Burnley and may face further competition when he returns to the club.
Defensive targets
To deal with the inexperience and vulnerability at the back, United may once again seek foreign talent in the January and summer window. The club were heavily linked with Mats Hummels throughout the summer, as well as Dutch internationals Ron Vlaar and Stefan de Vrij, so we may see at least one of these faces at Old Trafford pushing out the Englishmen at United in the coming months.
Midfield masterclass
After the flop of Marouane Fellaini last season, United were crying out for a quality midfielder to dictate play in the middle, which they seem to have found in the signing of Daley Blind, playing the holding role and controlling the tempo in the middle. The signings of Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria have given the Red Devils further depth in the middle and on the flanks. At the moment, Michael Carrick seems to be the only English player that is contention of a starting place in United’s midfield.
Since signing for the club, England U21 midfielders Nick Powell and Wilfred Zaha have struggled to put down a marker in the first team and have consequently been loaned out for the majority of their time at the club, with Nick Powell being loaned to Wigan and Leicester, and Zaha enjoying spells at Cardiff and former club Crystal Palace.
Jesse Lingard is another player that has benefited from success out on loan in a bid to break into the first team, coming off the bench in United’s opening game of the season at home to Swansea to make his first senior appearance for the club. He is also a regular for England at U21 level, but the signing of Di Maria, Falcao and inury have pushed him further down the pecking order.
Manchester United have three of the best strikers in the world in Radamel Falcao, Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie. Despite the loan departure of Javier Hernandez to Real Madrid, Louis Van Gaal still has a potent strike force to choose from, with three youngsters trying to compete and navigate their way into LVG’s first team plans.
Attacking options
England U19 international James Wilson made a stunning impact on his debut at Old Trafford in the last Premier League home match; when interim manager Ryan Giggs gave him the nod and went on to score two goals on his first team debut for the club. Wilson, still only 18, captained the U18’s last season and finished as top scorer for the Reds. Wilson joined the club at only 14 and has impressed during his youth career with his pace and clinical finishing certainly makes him one to watch in the future. Injuries have also played a part in breaking into the first team, but he may have to wait a little while before getting further first team experience or perhaps spend some time out on loan. Wilson definitely has the potential to succeed at United, which has been identified by Louis Van Gaal, believing he can one day succeed Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie.
Will Keane is another academy starlet looking to push his way into the first team, impressing at academy level, but the 21-year-old may be tempted to follow Welshman Tom Lawrence and leave the club to gain regular first team action at senior level, or perhaps go out on loan to his third club since joining at youth level in 2007. Lawrence left the club this summer to join new boys Leicester City for £1m, perhaps frustrated and feeling restricted to first team opportunities with United. Lawrence spent 12 years at the club, but never made a real breakthrough into the first team. Over the last two seasons, the attacker has spent time out on loan at Carlisle and Yeovil, so it was no real surprise Lawrence made a permanent move away instead of a loan move.
The future of academy and English players at Old Trafford is uncertain, with a total of 10 English players leaving in the summer on a permanent basis or loan deal, and only one English player coming into the club in Luke Shaw, who is yet to feature in the Premier League so far.
English departures
Danny Welbeck (Academy) – Arsenal
Tom Lawrence (Academy) – Leicester City
Sam Byrne (Academy) – Everton)
Jack Barmy (Academy) – Leicester City
Rio Ferdinand – QPR
Michael Keane – Leicester City (Loan)
Tom Cleverly (Academy) – Aston Villa (Loan)
Michael Keane – Burnley (Loan)
Nick Powell – Leicester City (Loan)
Wilfred Zaha – Crystal Palace (Loan)
I think Louis Van Gaal has already recognised the talent coming through at United and may give more opportunities for them to shine in the future, but we’ve already seen the club splash out on foreign talent in a bid to improve the squad, which may continue until the Red Devils are back competing for the Premier League and back in the Champions League.