Spending spree inevitable for Manchester United in the summer

David Moyes’s biggest challenge is yet to come

Manchester United had one of their better games against Arsenal yesterday. The Champions put in a solid defensive performance and managed to hold Wenger’s team to a 0-0 stalemate at the Emirates. The good news is that the back four put in a remarkable display, but the bad news is that three of the four players will most likely leave Old Trafford next season.

Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic have both announced that they will not be signing new contracts next season while Rio Ferdinand has been benched or excluded by David Moyes for most of the season. Moyes will have to look for suitable replacements for these players soon. Manchester United Chief Executive, Ed Woordward has stated that the club are ready to spend big this year which should give David Moyes something to smile about.

The Red Devils had a disastrous summer transfer window before the season got underway, but Moyes wasn’t to blame as he took the reigns of the club towards the end of the window. However, the Scot has no excuse next season and has ample time to scout for the right targets. The upcoming transfer window will be a real challenge for Moyes as he will be spending a lot more than he did at Everton and with big money there must be big thinking. Moyes has done some shrewd business with Everton over the past 10 years so hopefully he will come good at Manchester United. It looked like the manager wasn’t kidding when he said that Mata will be the first of many new signings at Old Trafford.

One of the big advantages of Manchester United’s many sponsorship deals is the cash they get out of them. Moyes is about to have a major “war chest” at his disposal in a few months. The defense and midfield need some major redevelopments so fans can expect a minimum of three new faces in the red half of Manchester. Fans can also look forward to at least one world-class player arriving in the summer as everyone at the club wants some quality football next season. The summer signings will be a career defining moment for Moyes so he needs to be cautious.

However Manchester United must take some promising players into account before adding new players. One such example is Nick Powell. The midfielder has had an extremely fruitful loan spell at Wigan Athletic where he has hit 10 goals so far and looks perfectly capable of playing at the highest level. The 19-year-old is capable of playing as a central midfielder and deserves a chance in the first team and must be taken into consideration by Moyes.

Jesse Lingard, who was United’s top scorer in last year’s pre-season tour, is another player who deserves to start for the club. The youngsters will almost certainly get their moment in the sun as United are not a club like Manchester City who spend big on top players and completely ignore the upcoming stars.

Some of the biggest names will be linked to the club but that will ultimately be just speculation as the ultimate decision is in David Moyes’s hands. Hopefully he and Woodward can form a relationship similar to the one Sir Alex Ferguson had with David Gill. If that happens then Manchester United will become the feared team they once were all over again.