Bruno Fernandes should be the center piece that Man United builds around, says club legend Wayne Rooney. “You have to build around Bruno. He’s the one player with quality,” Rooney said to Sky Sports yesterday.
“He has got fight in him. I think you keep the young players and Bruno. I think it has to be a massive clear out, it has to be. It’s not going to be in one year but it’s got to be over the next couple of years.”
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Manchester United FYIs
Championship Sunday Kickoff: Sun. May 19, 4pm, Falmer Stadium, Brighton & Hove, UK
Man United Preview Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
PL Position, Form: Manchester United 8th, 57 pts, WLLDW Brighton 10th, 48 pts, LDWLL
Google Result Probability: Manchester United 31% Draw 23% Brighton 46%
“To compete in this league, they need better players and don’t get me wrong, these players are good players and Premier League players. But to compete with Manchester City, with Liverpool, with Arsenal they need better players.”
Rooney is spot on, so we looked at nine players who will, should or could leave this summer at this link. We will look at six players who will be on the spot/hot seat next season in our next upcoming post. Here we present seven players the club should keep around.
Bruno Fernandes
He is the side’s top scorer this season in the league with 10 goals. He’s also registered more assists (7) than any other player at the club.
Kobbie Mainoo
The most pleasant surprise of the season, and arguably the campaign’s brightest of bright spots.
Rasmus Hojlund
Got off to a slow start, but then hit a purple patch. He has quality, but it would be interesting to see what he could do on a team that was much more cohesive.
Andre Onana
He’s high risk/reward, with this season bringing us mostly the downside. However, he was dominant at Inter Milan, so he has the potential to be elite once again.
Scott McTominay
Crazy to think that he was the club’s leading scorer in early midseason, but that speaks to the issues in the final third. He is not Ballon d’Or winner, but he’s solid and fulfills expectations.
Alejandro Garnacho
Despite his social media missteps, he’s one of the very few forwards on this club that actually brings anything to the table.
Amad Diallo
Rooney went on to say that they should keep the promising kids around, and he is one of the youngsters with great potential.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.