It’s going to be a long while, June at the earliest (and that’s the most optimistic timeline), until we have a match to make a starting XI prediction for again. In the meantime, we have plenty of transfer talk. The thing about transfer rumors is that they can get extremely tedious quite quickly, so these are rather dull times for sports fanatics and sports reporters.
Of course, if you’re bored right now that’s a luxury- it’s where you want to be during a pandemic. That’s because a lot of people right now have such serious concerns, there’s no time for the lesser evil of boredom. That said, reality bites right now so let’s take a trip to fantasy land.
(Also, check out our all-transfer rumor MUFC Starting XI team at this link)
Let’s pretend, in this fantasy reality, Ed Woodward was able to land everyone that Old Trafford leadership wanted to sign. And Paul Pogba is settled, healty, motivated and happy. And no one of great importance leaves.
That’s a lot of ifs, I know, but let’s say all these hypotheticals come to fruition, and the whole team is healthy.
We give you the optimal Manchester United Starting XI:
Rashford
Martial Fernandes Sancho
McTominay Pogba
Shaw Koulibaly Maguire Wan-Bissaka
De Gea
You could maybe flip the slots of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial. Perhaps Brandon Williams eventually usurps Luke Shaw for good.
You might see some rotation in midfield as well. However, with another upgrade made to central defense, and the back line being beefed up last summer, you’ve got a very formidable line-up right here.
With Bruno Fernandes providing service to this group of attackers, well you have a side that could really make some noise, both domestically and in Europe.
This season, United showed us all that they can be when they beat the big boys fairly frequently. They also struggled against the lower table sides, but an XI like this would almost certainly be very consistent. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would love to manage a side like this.
The Norwegian said he’s confident the club will be able to exploit the summer transfer window to their advantage, and if so, they could really have something special going on.
All Transfer Rumor Starting XI Series
Optimal Starting XI Series
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link