After just missing out on Champions League football for the coming season, it would not have been surprising if we found it hard to sign some top quality players in this summer transfer window. After all, who would want to move to a club that is not playing football at the highest level.
However, Manchester United are still considered as one of the best and biggest clubs in the World and it is clear that under the leadership of Jose Mourinho, we will be at the top again very soon.
Our first, and maybe most important signing of all, was Jose Mourinho who replaced Louis van Gaal as manager of Manchester United. After last season’s disastrous Premier League campaign, it was clear that a major change was required. Our manager had lost faith in the club. Our fans want us to be back at the top as soon as possible, and Louis van Gaal’s “process” was clearly taking too long to come into effect. After Sir Alex Ferguson left the club, we haven’t had a winning manager at our club. Jose Mourinho has made a name for himself in the footballing world and is currently considered as one of the best by winning the league in the four leagues which he has managed in (including the Premier League), and also winning 2 Champions League titles. It is partly for this reason that players from all across the globe want to play for Manchester United under this born winner.
The first player signed by our new manager was the Ivorian youngster, Eric Bailly. The talented 22-year-old signed from Villarreal for £30 million. Eric has joined on a four-year contract with the option to extend for a further two years. After watching his performances closely against Wigan and Borussia Dortmund, I think it’s fair to say that he is one to watch for the future with lots of potential. However, after Sunday’s Community Shield performance, my opinion of him changed completely. Not only did he win man of the match, but he put in a performance of a player with tonnes of experience. For such a young lad, his composure is exquisite and he is what they call a “no nonsense defender”. There is a good chance that we will see this name in the starting line-up for most games this season in centre back alongside Chris Smalling. It wouldn’t be irrational to say that Eric Bailly can become the next Vidic at Old Trafford.
The second player we signed, like Mourinho, is a born winner. On the 1st of July Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced that his next club is Manchester United. We’ve signed one of the most prolific strikers in the world. As they say, United don’t announce Zlatan, Zlatan announces United. Making his debut in his home country against Galatasaray could only lead to one thing – a spectacular debut goal, and that is what we got. After scoring on his non-competitive debut, the question was whether he could also score on his competitive debut against Leicester City in the Community Shield. As expected Zlatan Ibrahimovic didn’t just score a goal, he scored the winning goal in the dying minutes of the game. That is what you call an immediate impact at his new club. Signing on a free transfer, Zlatan will surely make an impact at Old Trafford and give us fans some extra faith for the coming season. Similar to Mourinho, Zlatan has won championships in four different leagues since beginning his professional career with Malmo in 1999. The Swedish international scored a staggering 50 goal in 56 appearances in the 2015/16 season. Not at all bad for a 34-year-old…
After already singing the best player in the French league, it only makes sense to take the best player from the German league too. Henrikh Mkhitaryan signed from Borussia Dortmund for £26.3 million on a four-year contract with the option to extend for a further year. Henrikh was voted Bundesliga player of the season for 2015/16 after registering an impressive 23 goals and 32 assists across all competitions. The 27-year-old Armenian is a great team player with great skill and vision and also has a good eye for goal. After watching him against Wigan and Borussia Dortmund, it is clear that he will be a bright spark this season and a fan favourite. Although he barely featured in the Community Shield match against Leicester, it would be surprising if he didn’t feature as a key player in Jose Mourinho’s squad.
With only days left until the start of the Barclays Premier League, things were looking positive. For the last month we’d been waiting for the announcement of Paul Pogba but things took slightly longer than expected. After several hints being dropped by Juventus, Adidas and Pogba himself, it was obvious that Manchester United were going to sign this star midfielder for a world record fee. Finally, the day came on the 8th of August where Stromzy announced that Pogba had joined Manchester United. Pogba passed his medical and signed for Manchester United on a five-year deal with the option to extend for a further year. The fee was £89 million to be paid in two financial years. It is clear that Paul Pogba is the best young footballer in the world and has a bright future ahead of him. He has already expressed his hopes to win the Champions League and Ballon d’Or at Manchester United but first, his sights are on the Premier League. From looking on social media, it is clear that Pogba has settled in at the club very well and quickly. On Sunday we face Bournemouth and let’s hope that we will see the debut of our talented star.
Overall, this transfer window so far has been arguably the best ever for a single club. This is significant considering the fact that all the players we have signed have come from playing Champions League football to Europa League. It is fair to say, Jose Mourinho has bought back the fear factor back into Manchester United. We are still the biggest club in the world!
