It has been a summer of upheaval at Old Trafford as Manchester United have embarked on their first transfer window under the stewardship of INEOS Chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his newly installed team of behind-the-scenes footballing expertise. There have already been two new signings in highly-rated young French centre-back Lény Yoro and 2023/24 Serie A Young Player of the Season, Joshua Zirkzee arriving early in the summer. With more signings expected to be on the way as Erik ten Hag sets about further reinforcing his squad, here is your Last Word on Sports Manchester United predicted lineup for the 2024/25 season.
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Players Departing Manchester United This Summer
There have been several departures from Manchester United so far this summer, the most high-profile of which has been Mason Greenwood to Ligue 1 outfit Olympique de Marseille for a fee of £26.7 million. Young centre-back Willy Kambwala has joined La Liga’s Villarreal for an undisclosed fee, with Alvaro Hernandez (Benfica, £5.1 million) and the disappointing Donny van de Beek (Girona, £500,000) the only other players to depart commanding transfer fees.
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Raphael Varane and Omari Forson both left the club upon expiry of their contracts and have since joined Serie A outfits Como and Monza respectively, whereas free agents Anthony Martial and Brandon Williams are currently still without a club. Sofyan Amrabat returned to Fiorentina following his loan spell with the Red Devils, with a fresh move for the Morrocan midfielder being mooted.
Yoro and Zirkzee Already In: Who Is Next?
Lény Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee have already arrived at Old Trafford this summer. The former performed impressively in pre-season before being struck by the Manchester United defensive injury curse and succumbing to a metatarsal injury that is set to keep him out for up to 3 months.
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In terms of further reinforcements, Erik ten Hag has made no secret of the need for further defensive arrivals, with Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui names that keep appearing in the gossip columns, both having played for Ten Hag before, during their time at Ajax.
Central midfield is also a priority position, but possible moves for the heavily-linked Sander Berge, Youssouf Fofana or Edson Alvarez are contingent on the departures of one or more midfielders currently under contract, likely to be Christian Eriksen and/or Scott McTominay. Elsewhere in the squad, moves look unlikely unless they are to replace potential departures, with the incoming Zirkzee expected to supplement Rasmus Hojlund as a versatile second centre-forward option.
Manchester United Predicted Lineup
4-2-3-1: André Onana, Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire (Until Yoro returns from injury), Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Casemiro, Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund.
