Opinion: Manchester United still have a lot of work to do in the transfer market

Manchester United, who are on a high after winning five out of five games in their pre-season friendlies, are looking forward to starting the Premier League season with a win against close rivals Chelsea on August 11. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men have one more pre-season friendly game to play, against AC Milan on Saturday, August 3rd, but one can expect the Red Devils to come out on top.

However exciting these recent run of results may sound, United still have a lot of work to do in the transfer market. As of now, they have only signed Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James from Crystal Palace and Swansea City respectively but there is a huge void of world-class players that needs to be filled and club chief executive Ed Woodward has a big job on his hands. While Wan-Bissaka will definitely be a first-team regular, James still needs to develop a lot and is likely to play a rotational role this season.

United have done nothing to reduce their defensive worries which caused them so much pain last season. Deadwood such as Phil Jones and Ashley Young are still on the roster and there have been no attempts to sign a world-class central defender to partner Victor Lindelof or compete with Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling. While academy graduate Axel Tuanzebe is an exciting prospect and should be allowed to prosper this season. But, one could expect a club of United's stature to make a high-profile signing for their defence soon.

Manchester United v Leeds United - Pre-Season Friendly

There have been talks of Leicester City's Harry Maguire being very close to a move to Old Trafford but one cannot assume anything until the transfer has actually been finalised.

Another area where United need strengthening is on the wings. Solskjaer took a step in the right direction when he signed the speedy Daniel James from Swansea but it remains to be seen if the latter can hold his own in the Premier League's physically competitive standards. Sporting CP's Bruno Fernandes looks like an amazing player but Woodward needs to be on the double to make sure that other clubs don't snap him up.

Romelu Lukaku is another player who has been looking to leave Old Trafford for quite some time now. Earlier there were talks of him going to Inter Milan but latest reports suggest that he may be used in a swap deal with Juventus with star Paulo Dybala coming this way. What remains to be seen is which club benefits more from such a deal.

Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini's departure to Paris Saint-Germain and Shandong Luneng Taishan respectively have opened up a big gap in United's central midfield as well. With Paul Pogba likely to go to either Juventus or Real Madrid and Nemanja Matic looking rusty in pre-season, the onus is going to fall upon the young shoulders of Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira. Added reinforcement in this position is highly desirable.

The Paul Pogba dilemma has been haunting Solskjaer for a long time now. While there is nothing wrong in believing that a player must be allowed to leave if he wants to, it must also be noted that the Frenchman is one of the few world-class players remaining on United's roster and his departure will further weaken the side. Along with that, Pogba is a highly influential player who can also step up as a leader.

However, as always, one will have to wait till the last day of the transfer window in anticipation to see what actually happens and who actually arrives at Old Trafford.

Edited by Sai Teja