The summer transfer window officially closed at 11pm on Tuesday, August 31st. It was a tremendous transfer window because United signed Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane, and Cristiano Ronaldo. The additions of Sancho, Varane and Ronaldo will bring world-class quality to the team. This article is about what signing will have the biggest impact and what to expect from each signing.
What to expect from Cristiano Ronaldo:
Cristiano Ronaldo is Manchester United’s most notable signing. Ronaldo is the signing people are looking forward to the most because he has been in the top 2 players in the world argument for 12 years. Manchester United fans can expect goals from Ronaldo. The numbers that he puts up speaks for himself. During his time at Real Madrid, he scored 450 goals in 438 games. During his time at Juventus, he scored 101 goals in 134 games. These stats show that he is a relentless goalscorer.
We can also expect an aerial threat from Ronaldo. Ronaldo has scored 22 headed goals in domestic league and Champions League matches in the last four seasons. Ronaldo used his aerial ability to his advantage when he won an aerial duel against Presnel Kimpembe and Raphael Varane. Renato Sanches’ cross gave Ronaldo every chance of heading the ball beyond Lloris’ reach. His leap is almost gravity defying at times and will help United’s lack of height in the box for crosses and set-pieces.
What to expect from Jadon Sancho in contrast to Ronaldo:
Manchester United can expect creativity as one of Sancho’s strengths is such. Sancho averaged 2.83 chances created per 90 last season. Sterling’s average was 1.45, Mason Mount averaged 2.08, and Phil Foden averaged 1.81. One reason for this is the Bundesliga is not quite at the same level as the Premier League. As a result of creating an abundance of chances for his teammates, Sancho has no shortage of assists. During his time at Dortmund, he played 137 games and got 50 goals and 64 assists. He will hopefully redefine United’s right hand side as the club has ultimately failed to bring in a new right winger for many years and now has one set for a decade.
What to expect from Raphael Varane in contrast to Ronaldo and Sancho:
Varane will bring a winning mentality to the club. He has played 14 finals and won 14 including, a World Cup final. Varane’s winning mentality is important because the last time United won a trophy was in 2017. At 6 ft 3, expect Varane to win his fair share of aerial duels. Of the 191 players to contest 50 or more aerial duels, Raphael Varane had the best aerial success rate (76%) in La Liga last season. He was excellent against Wolves and his recovery pace complimented Harry Maguire excellently. He seems to have also established a good relationship with Aaron Wan-Bissaka as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to create consistency and stability with this current back four as Sir Alex did with his great teams.
Conclusion who to expect the most from
Out of the three signings, we should expect the most from Ronaldo. Ronaldo has played in the Premier League previously and is the standout signing. We can expect the most from Ronaldo because he is a top 2 player in this generation. Sancho and Varane will need time to adapt to the league. Sancho’s age means we should expect the least as he is most likely to struggle. All three are excellent signings and just what United need to challenge for the title, now it is up to the team to see if this can happen and if silverware can finally return to the red side of Manchester.
