Manchester United have signed Aaron Wan-Bissaka, it is official now. The right-back will wear number 29 in his first season at the club. According to BBC, it is a £50m deal, from which £45m is a regular transfer fee and £5m is in appearance-based add-ons. Crystal Palace have a 10% sell-on clause if Manchester United sell Wan-Bissaka for more than £50m in the future.
Now that this deal is done, Manchester United have brought in two players. Daniel James gives new options at right wing, while Wan-Bissaka makes right-back a settled position. After signing Diogo Dalot last summer, Man United now have two players in that position that are supposed to grow this season. That leaves the team with Matteo Darmian who is close to departure and Ashley Young, who is expected to have a smaller role this season.
So what next? What are the priorities during July for Man United? The club brought in two players that are far from their full potential and they will need time to impose themselves. Now, the urge is for players of real quality.
Sign A Centre-Back
Maybe this is not the number one priority for Man United right now, for some odd reason, but it really should be. The Devils really need a quality centre-back, someone that will lead the defence in a similar fashion to how Virgil Van Dijk made everyone look better around him at Liverpool.
Sure, a transfer of that magnitude will not happen, but having Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelöf, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones is not ideal, especially when we know their history of both injuries and mistakes. Signing a player like Kalidou Koulibaly is a mission impossible, but United will only have themselves to blame for that. Man United need to improve their spine of the starting XI and central defence is a good start for that.
Sign A Central Midfielder
And to continue in improving the spine, Man United should really add one (or two?) central midfielders. With Ander Herrera moving to PSG and Paul Pogba eager to move on as well, options seem very limited either way. Nemanja Matic is ageing with every day and Scott McTominay and Fred are still not ready to lead this team. So, bringing in Sean Longstaff could only create more problems for United. Bringing in players just for the sake of numbers is not good, either.
That is why those rumours about Bruno Fernandes seem so important at this point. Man United need a player of proven quality and such players are hard to find. They will also be pricey, just like Fernandes could be.
Decision On Lukaku And Pogba
And in the end, Man United have to decide what will happen with Pogba and Lukaku. If the duo really want to leave, they should be sold for the right amount of money. However, these potential transfers should not be dragged on. Set on a date before which they need to be sold in order to sign the right replacements. If they are not sold by that date, then the players should be reminded they still have a contract with Manchester United. Either way, it is a tricky situation.
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