After their defeat to Arsenal last Sunday, it is now very unlikely that Manchester United will finish in the top four of the Premier League this season, which would have seen them qualify for next season’s Champions League. However, they can still earn themselves a place in that competition if they win the Europa League.
But what if they don’t win the Europa League?
They will still qualify for the same tournament again through their league position, but Jose Mourinho admitted at their start of United’s 2016/17 campaign that it’s not a competition that they want to be involved in, so you’d imagine that he wouldn’t want to settle for a second long, arduous season in it.
Mourinho’s main gripe with the Europa League is that the resultant fixture congestion hinders their league form and title challenge, which is what a club the size of United are ultimately aiming for. The facts seem to back up Mourinho’s theory; if this Premier League campaign is to end as expected, then the last two seasons will have seen sides who haven’t competed in European competition, Leicester City and Chelsea, lift the trophy.
Obviously qualifying for the Champions League will result in the same problems, but at least that is a competition the club and fans want to participate in and will show some kind of progression from last season.
In fact, United fans have been dying to see some sort of progression from the side since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club four years ago. The Red Devils have spent an absurd amount of money on transfers since then, well over £500 million, on the likes of Angel Di Maria, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial. However, it hasn’t led to creating a side that satisfies the fans or garner the desired results.
Former United man Gary Neville has admitted that the 2016/17 Premier League campaign has been unacceptable, but the same can be said of every season since they last lifted the trophy in 2013.
United still look some distance away from mounting a serious title challenge and it doesn’t look like it’ll be getting any better next season. With the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney expected to leave Old Trafford this Summer, they will surely have to spend significant money again in the next transfer window to bring in some firepower up front.
But if they are not in the Champions League, who can they attract?
Obviously United are still one of the biggest clubs in World football and Mourinho has a fantastic track record in the transfer market, but will the top strikers choose them over some of Europe’s other elite sides?
Perhaps even more concerning than this is the problem they could face at the other end of the field. Rumours continue to circulate that David de Gea could be set to join Real Madrid next season and that could be an even bigger loss for United.
De Gea has arguably been the top goalkeeper in Europe over the last few years and has saved United quite a lot of points, he is almost irreplaceable for them.
Putting all this into consideration, next year could be a tough one for United regardless of what happens in the Europa league this season. If you remove these three players from their current squad then Mourinho’s side begin to look very average which could mean that this summer’s transfer window will be the most important of his career.
It’s not what the United fans will want to hear, but the 2017/18 Premier League campaign could be a transitional one for them. Mourinho will have to prove that he is indeed the ‘Special One’ if he is to turn his side into a serious force by next season.
Looking at Mourinho’s track record, he tends not to stay at clubs for too long, so if he is to work his magic at the club then next year could be a ‘do or die’ situation for the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager. If he does not achieve the desired success of a Champions League campaign and genuine Premier League title challenge, then Mourinho could once again move on and leave United looking for yet another manager to take the reigns and try to rebuild the side into the feared European giants they once were under Sir Alex.
With the likes of Manchester City and Everton expected to invest heavily for next season’s campaign, the competition between the top six or seven clubs in the Premier League will be tighter than ever and United could be in danger of falling behind the pack.
With that in mind, their current Europa League campaign takes on added importance, not just for next season but for the next few years in United’s history. They need to qualify for the Champions League if there is to be any sense of optimism at Old Trafford by the time next season comes around.
