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Manchester United will be looking to lift their first major trophy under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when they face Spanish side Villereal on Wednesday in the final of the UEFA Europa League.
The club finished finishing 2nd in the Premier League this season, automatically qualifying for the Champions League in the process.
United's progress under the Norwegian is clearly visible, however, his side are still not where he wants them to be. The Red Devils finished twelve points behind their city rivals Manchester City in the league and were knocked out in the group stages of this season's UEFA Champions League.
The Red Devils have indeed made great strides this season. However, if they want to reach the next level, they will have to invest heavily in the squad during the summer transfer window. They still have holes in their squad that need to be filled in both attacking and defensive positions.
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Manchester United have been heavily linked with a move for Tottenham Hotspur's talisman Harry Kane and Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho to bolster their attack. While the acquisition of any one of the two will massively improve United, they will cost a major portion of their summer transfer budget and they will have to decide whether to spend their remaining budget on a centre-back or a defensive midfielder.
The Red Devils conceded 44 goals in the Premier League this season, averaging 1.2 goals per game. Many would argue on the basis of this evidence that the Red Devils should splash the cash on a new centre-back, however, a new top-quality deep-lying midfielder should be their priority over a central defender.
A defensive midfielder will bring back balance to Solskjaer's Red Devils
Since the 1-6 humiliation against Tottenham back in October, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has fielded a double pivot of Scott McTominay and Fred for the majority of the games in both the Premier League and in Europe. Both players have done reasonably well in patches for Manchester United, however, neither of them is a proper number 6.
While deploying two energetic midfielders in the double-pivot has brought some stability to Manchester United's midfield, it has also forced Solskjaer to play his best players out of position just to accommodate those two in his team. Paul Pogba, who has been one of Manchester United's best players this season, has been deployed on the left-wing for most of the season, forcing Marcus Rashford to the other side of the pitch.
The 23-year-old Englishman, who thrives on his ability to cut inside and take on defenders, has seemed to struggle on the right wing. With the acquisition of a defensive midfielder, Paul Pogba could be deployed on the left side of a midfield three alongside Bruno Fernandes, and Rashford could be shifted to his preferred left wing. Playing his best players in their preferred positions will be key for Solskjaer next season, and the only way to do so is by signing a competent deep-lying midfielder.
Manchester United need to take ideas from Nemanja Matic's signing
Manchester United bought Nemanja Matic for a reported fee of around £40 million from Chelsea back in 2017. The Serbian came in and instantly transformed United's fortunes. The Red Devils were scoring goals for fun and were almost impenetrable at the back during Matic's early days at the club.
Manchester United conceded just 28 goals that season while scoring 68. However, the lack of pre-season and major surgery the following season took a toll on Matic's form and fitness. The 32-year-old doesn't have the pace or the fitness to play Solskjaer's high-tempo football anymore.
Solskjaer has much better centre-backs at his disposal at the moment than his predecessor had back then. The only thing he is lacking right now is a defensive midfielder who can martial the midfield like prime Nemanja Matic used to do and stop the counter-attacks. If Manchester United can find a proper replacement for the Serb in the summer, they might be able to close the gap on teams above them.
