Erik ten Hag or Mauricio Pochettino might be the next Man United manager, and they'll have to restructure the defense that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer bought.
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire has been heavily chastised, but a new United manager may be able to revive his career.
There was no protest when Manchester United spent a combined £125 million to bring Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka to the club in the summer of 2019. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 'cultural reset' of the club had started in earnest a few weeks before with the slightly underwhelming (but potentially underrated) signing of Daniel James for £15 million from Swansea, but now, before the 2019/20 season got underway, was the time to put the finishing touches on it.
Maguire and Wan-Bissaka, both 26 at the time, were considered as a savvy double swoop from lower-tier Premier League clubs Leicester City and Crystal Palace, respectively, where they had established themselves. Okay, United overpaid for both defenders, but the defensive player market had changed considerably since Liverpool's £75 million Virgil van Dijk transfer in January 2018.
Both Maguire and Wan-Bissaka were expected to slot in into the United defense and play admirably, and that is exactly what occurred. Both players were given a lot of trust by Solskjaer, and the signals in their first season were good.
After only two Premier League clean sheets in the first 19 games of the season while the newcomers settled in, United went on a run of eight clean sheets in ten games from January to March. United kept 10 clean sheets in 14 games during the 2020/21 season, which was a year later. United's manager frequently mentioned how his defense was developing.
"At Manchester United, any goal you concede is going to be scrutinized," Solskjaer said of his defenders. "It's just the way things are." I know these boys have grown in their mental strength and ability to deal with these situations. We're working on it."
The final pieces of the puzzle seemed to be recalling a resurgent Diogo Dalot from his AC Milan loan in the summer of 2021 and making the marquee addition of Raphael Varane, with Alex Telles arriving in October 2020 for around £15 million to fire up left-back Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof forming a solid partnership with Maguire.
By the start of the 2021/22 season, you had a feeling Solskjaer had his ideal defense — a group that had improved over the previous two seasons, with depth at full-back, and Varane, the proven medal-winner, as the cherry on top.
Of course, it didn't work out that way, and United only managed to keep one clean sheet in the 17 games Solskjaer oversaw at the start of the season (in all competitions). It was suicidal stuff at times, with United ripped apart in consecutive games against Leicester, Atalanta, and Liverpool, before the Norwegian's final two awful outings against Man City and Watford. They have surrendered 19 goals in a seven-game span near the end of his career.
The fact that United kept a clean sheet in their first game without Solskjaer in charge, a 2-0 win over Villarreal supervised by Michael Carrick, seemed significant. Despite the fact that Ralf Rangnick's results and performances have been erratic since then, there can be few doubts that the German has improved United's defense. United have never conceded more than one goal in a game twice in 17 games under Rangnick as they moved into March.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a fan of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Manchester United's Harry Maguire
Maguire's performances have been criticized, while others, like as Dalot and Telles, have been given more responsibility and have thrived as a result. When Lindelof and Varane have played together, they have looked sturdy. Rangnick's determination for United to defend from the front had paid off, even the under-fire captain confessed.
"I believe he's introduced a lot of different principles into the organization," the club captain told United Review.
"But, without a doubt, we haven't conceded as many goals or as many chances." It's a collective effort rather than a back-four or goalkeeping effort [alone]. It's a collaborative effort.
"The way they [the midfielders and forwards] work and cover areas in front of us makes our life a little bit simpler, so it's a great effort from us all."
So far, the signals are promising, and the next permanent United manager should be able to build on Rangnick's solid defense. The raw components are in place, and guys like Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, and Shaw, despite being off of form, haven't turned into awful players.
And, while other aspects of the United squad are expected to undergo major changes this summer, the defense is expected to remain relatively unchanged.
Maguire and Wan-Bissaka will be impossible to replace, but with the correct system, a new manager may get a tune out of them. Shaw has demonstrated for England this week that he is still a capable and, on occasion, brilliant full-back. At the very least, Dalot and Telles are merit roster spots.
There are numerous issues at Old Trafford right now, but Solskjaer's signings and Rangnick's repairs have demonstrated to the next United manager that the foundations are in place to build upon.
Some things can be softly modified rather than being ripped up and trashed.
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