According to Jose Mourinho’s own scale, Manchester United are 75 per cent of the way to where they want to be in the summer transfer market. But while the addition of Paul Pogba in the next seven days will take them to their target off the field, Sunday marks the start of a long road back on it.
The Portuguese manager has overseen the arrivals of Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and has made a big deal of his summer-long pursuit for a fourth and final piece in the jigsaw. Whether a quartet of signings is enough to transform United into a title challenger for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign is about to be discovered.
The Community Shield has never been a season-defining contest and is unlikely to ever become such. But what it does provide is a serious, competitive guide as to a club’s progress, and Sunday’s clash against Leicester City at Wembley gives United an opportunity to truly draw a line under the Louis van Gaal era and move forward as a force.
Since their last visit to the national stadium for the FA Cup final in May, United have made positive strides. After the initial furore surrounding the ill-timed leak that Van Gaal was heading for the exit, the club went about their business well.
First, there was the swift appointment of Mourinho and the confirmation of Bailly’s arrival. Then, the signing of Ibrahimovic caught the imagination and Mkhitaryan’s transfer ensured the addition of some of the flair that was missing in two years under the Dutchman. While Pogba is yet to put pen to paper, the anticipation of his world-record transfer has had most United fans purring.
Pre-season hasn’t exactly gone to plan for the most part. A straight-forward victory over Wigan was followed by a hammering from Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai, and the cancellation of the proceeding friendly with Manchester City left the club a little red in the face.
Victory over Galatasaray included a debut goal within 194 seconds for Ibrahimovic and a starring substitute performance from Marcus Rashford but also failed to dispel worries about United’s mobility off the ball. That was dealt with to an extent in Wayne Rooney’s testimonial against Everton, but the lack of cohesion in the final third in the 0-0 draw will need to be eradicated going forward if watching United is going to be a more pleasant prospect than it has been in recent times.
“My teams are very different to Mr Van Gaal’s teams, that is correct. It is a difficult situation to change a dynamic,” Mourinho told the press on Friday.
“It would be easy for me to have 20 new players and to start from zero. For two years they had some principles of play which are not my principles, but players will always try to adapt. After two years there are some things in their brain which are automatic, but they are trying. The players are giving everything to try to adapt.”
Judging by that admission, perhaps Mourinho is not expecting United to truly have his imprint for some time yet. And that could be a worry if other front-runners get off to a decent start. Manchester City won their first five Premier League games last term before quickly crumbling, but one would suggest that a similar platform under Pep Guardiola would not be squandered so easily.
United kept getting let back into the race for the top four in 2015-16, but championship challenges are more unforgiving affairs. A slow start could mark the end of any hopes of a 21st title arriving at Old Trafford.
As such, United need to get more than just a positive result out of Sunday’s clash with Leicester. They need to see progress in terms of their mobility in defence. There needs to be a sign that Ibrahimovic and Rooney can play together without slowing the pace of United’s attacking play. And there needs to be proof that Mourinho will not stifle the creative ability of players like Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial and Juan Mata.
United need to hit the ground running to send a message that they are ready to turn their summer spending spree into a serious tilt at Leicester’s Premier League crown.
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- Goal