Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is plotting his summer transfer moves as he looks to accelerate his long-term rebuild at Old Trafford.
Manchester United need three or four quality signings to considerably close the gap on bitter rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.
But Solskjaer now has substantial squad depth after the permanent additions of Harry Maguire, Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and most recently Bruno Fernandes.
There are a number of players playing peripheral roles at Old Trafford that are perhaps deserving of more first-team opportunities when football eventually returns.
We picked out three players who would benefit from more game time under Solskjaer.
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Axel Tuanzebe
After an impressive pre-season, Tuanzebe was seriously competing for a regular place in Solskjaer’s starting eleven alongside Maguire. However, an injury in December’s cup victory over Colchester halted his progress and he has been unable to make his way back into the side since.
United had been brilliant at the back before the coronavirus postponement, keeping nine clean sheets in an eleven game unbeaten run. But Tuanzebe is a central defender with huge talent and can certainly be rotated into the side more often next season if he stays fit. The 22-year-old is quick across the ground which can offset Maguire’s lack of pace in a promising centre-back pairing. Tuanzebe also provides adequate right-back cover, but Solskjaer is well stocked in that area.
Mason Greenwood
Solskjaer is well aware that Greenwood is a generational talent and has already described him as the most natural finisher at the club.
The 18-year-old is being nurtured well by the Norwegian as he becomes accustomed to first-team football at the highest level. But despite most of his appearances coming off the bench this season, he has managed to score 12 goals and is arguably the club’s biggest goal threat.
Greenwood has operated in a number of positions across the front line including on the right-flank and up front in a split striker system. We feel he has proved that he is made for the biggest stage and Solskjaer should trust him with far more than the 4 Premier League starts he has had this term ahead of the next campaign. The postponement of the European Championships until the summer of 2021 offers the youngster a fantastic chance to play his way into Gareth Southgate’s England plans if he is given enough game time at Old Trafford.
Angel Gomes
There is a huge amount of uncertainty around Gomes but we are hoping he can commit his long-term future to the club. The playmaker’s current deal runs out in the summer and we have seen little indication that he is close to agreeing fresh terms for a new contract.
But the latest from the Metro is that United have renewed talks with Gomes and there is a confidence he will sign a new deal at the club.
If Gomes is to stay, he will want assurances that he will get more game time than the three Europa League group stage starts he has had to settle for this season. In truth, it is difficult for the youngster at this stage of his development with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Daniel James ahead of him.
However, he does deserve a chance, at least in the cup competitions, to impress his manager and fight for a place in the first-team squad. Ideally, we feel Gomes would benefit from a season out on loan where he is playing regular football to enable his development.
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