Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is building a team for the future and seems to have a plan as to the kind of football that he wants to play at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have had a slow start to the 2019-20 season, which was expected despite the big-money signings of Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the summer transfer window.
The Manchester United side looks depleted and doesn’t have too many star players and little chance of challenging the top two in the league, or even perhaps the top four this season.
Let’s take a look at the strongest possible Manchester United lineup when all players are fit:
Strongest possible Manchester United Lineup
Goalkeeper
David de Gea will be a free agent next summer, but will remain as the No. 1 keeper at Old Trafford. If you’re are Manchester United fan, you should be worried that his future at the club hasn’t been secured yet.
Defence
The backline seems to be the most straightforward to predict this season. Harry Maguire, a massive summer signing, will start at the back, alongside Victor Lindelof.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, another new signing, has done very well so far for the Red Devils, and he will start at right-back, while Luke Shaw will start at left-back for Manchester United in the 2019-20 season.
Midfield
Solskjaer seems to have gone for a two-man midfield formation in the opening few games of the season with a No. 10 further up the field.
In this formation, Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay seem the strongest midfield pairing. The likes of Nemanja Matic, Fred, and Andreas Pereira are other options in central midfield for the English club.
In the No. 10 role, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata are the two options for Solskjaer. Lingard has been in poor form for Manchester United over the last year, which means that Mata should be the one chosen to play in that role. The Spaniard is much more composed on the ball.
Attack
The attacking trio of Manchester United is most likely to consist of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, and new signing Daniel James.
James has got off to a flyer at Manchester United, scoring three goals in his four games for the club. United should persist with James on the left rather than the right, as he is effective in cutting inside and putting in crosses or shots on goal.
Rashford could perhaps start on the right and drift inside to central areas, while Martial should start as the lone striker for Manchester United.
