Manchester United finished second in the Premier League last season. They lost the FA Cup final against Chelsea and went trophy-less in the season. Will they do better this season? Following are some of the most important players whose performance will be key for United’s success this season.
Paul Pogba
Manchester United was willing to pay £89.3 million for Paul Pogba. That shows how highly he is rated by the club. No-one doubts about his huge potential as he proved himself at Juventus. However, the consistency has remained an area of improvement for him.
Last season, he played the main role in Manchester United’s comeback victory against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. When United were two goals down in the first half, it was Paul Pogba who scored two goals to bring his team back in the game.
In the recent World Cup in Russia, he performed very well for France who eventually emerged as the world champions. He struck a goal from the edge of the penalty area in the final against Croatia, thus greatly contributing in France’s victory.
Alexis Sanchez
Manchester United got a very profitable deal in January of this year when they swapped Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Alexis Sanchez, a hugely talented player who proved his worth at both Arsenal and Barcelona.
At Arsenal, he was the figurehead of the team who scored 24 league goals in the 2016-17 season. How he performs this season will be crucial to the overall performance of Manchester United in the Premier League.
Romelu Lukaku
The current United’s squad can boast of only one genuine centre forward- Romelu Lukaku. He is the main player who has the responsibility to score goals for the team. He performed brilliantly for Belgium in the recent World Cup in Russia. He scored twice against both Panama and Tunisia making him the first player since Diego Maradona in 1986 to achieve such a feat.
No-one can forget what Lukaku did in a match against United in 2013 when he was playing for West Brom. It was the last match of Sir Alex Ferguson, and he came as a substitute to score a hat-trick denying the legendary manager a final celebration.
David De Gea
Since De Gea came to the club in 2011, he has been a very important player for United. The amazing goalkeeper has won Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award four times out of the five seasons. He has been a constant performer for United.
Although, it can be said that his recent World Cup performance was far from satisfactory. He made many mistakes playing for Spain and deservedly drew a lot of criticism from the media. Hopefully, he performs a lot better his season for United.
Antonio Valencia
As one of the most experienced players, Antonio Valencia’s role will be very important for the team. With United, Valencia has now won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and two League Cups.
In Mourinho’s defensive structure, he has a very important role to play. The only problem is that his injuries are becoming very frequent as his age is increasing. Therefore, he should try hard to stay fit and play for the team.