What next for Manchester United? Naz Majeed asks five questions for the Red Devils to ponder during the enforced break in the football season. 

1. The Manager. What has Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought to Manchester United?

It is always a risk appointing a club legend as your new manager, especially when you are arguably the biggest club in world football. That status alone would make the job a fearsome one for any incoming manager, but there is often now an expectation that club icons need to be as immediately successful as Pep Guardiola at Barcelona or Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid. In reality, the converse is often more common, which makes sense considering there can only be so many winners every season; more sides fail than succeed.

For Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however, the situation was slightly different. Coming in to replace Jose Mourinho at the end of 2018, the Norwegian was a breath of fresh air in every way, immediately purging the negativity that had plagued Mourinho’s last months at Old Trafford, and encouraging an open, attacking game that pleased fans who believed that their side was finally back to playing “the United way”. Solskjaer’s period as caretaker manager was overwhelmingly successful, with his very first game seeing United score 5 goals, the first time they had managed to do so since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Winning 14 of his first 19 games in charge - including the miracle come-from-behind win over Paris St-Germain in the Champions League - Solskjaer was then offered the position on a permanent basis, and that it seemed to fall apart.

His record since that point has been erratic, with poor showings against mid-table sides and relegation strugglers, but with the occasional swashbuckling victory over other teams in games where United seemed to have been written off.

Multiple big performances in big games against the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Tottenham have kept the majority of the United supporters on side with Solskjaer, and there is a general belief that while he will be given the time and backing needed to do what he claims to be doing, getting United back to challenging for titles on a regular basis.

That he seems to be a very likeable figure himself is also a boon.

2. The New Signings. How have Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, James, and Fernandes fared?

Manchester United’s new signings this season have, in general, been successful. Daniel James was the first to impress, scoring on his debut against Chelsea on the opening day of the season. The speedy Welsh winger has already had comparisons to Ryan Giggs thrown at him, though his performances in United’s first few games only enhanced his growing reputation.

He has since fallen away from that kind of stunning form, though in Aaron Wan-Bissaka the fans already have a new favourite. Still, only 22, the tall and lanky right-back enjoyed only one full season with Crystal Palace before United signed him for a record fee for an uncapped Englishman, but his consistently impressive performances for Palace have continued, and in Wan-Bissaka United appear to finally have found their next Gary Neville.

Harry Maguire’s impact has been less immediately obvious. The defender was signed for a fee comparable to Liverpool’s deal to bring Virgil Van Dijk to Merseyside, and while Maguire is a solid enough defender, he is not in the same bracket as the Dutchman, and parallels to his Anfield counterpart will always paint Maguire in an unfavourable light.

What Maguire has brought, however, is a commanding aura at the heart of the United defence, something that has been sorely lacking for many seasons. His presence in the side has also brought out the best in Victor Lindelof, and if nothing else Maguire is at least as good a defender as Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, or Eric Bailly on their best days, without their tendency to fall prey to gaffe or injury.

The final and most impressive major United signing is one Bruno Fernandes.

The Portuguese playmaker made an immediate impact at his new club, picking up the Premier League Player of the month for February. His graft and craft have given United a dimension and dynamic they have sorely lacked for far too long.

Fernandes has created and conducted, scrapped and scored, directed and dominated. While his own statistics are impressive (creating chances, finishing, scoring from outside the box, taking accurate set-pieces, retaining possession), he has also brought about the best in Fred and other players around him and made United a better side in every shape and form. An outstanding signing, that begs only one question, why did United wait so long to get him in the first place?

3. The Current Squad. What are the problems faced?

The answer to the Fernandes question is probably United’s most major headache.

Once seen as the crown jewel and the statement signing for United’s desire to recover their mantle of European and world heavyweight, the World Cup-winning midfielder has had a strange time at Old Trafford, to say the least. The deal to bring him back for a world record fee to the club that he had left for nothing raised a few eyebrows, but many assumed it would be the mark of a new era of Manchester United greatness.

This was, after all, Paul Pogba, who had starred for many years alongside Andrea Pirlo in an all-conquering Juventus midfield. Yet his time at United has been stop-start, with many fans and experts unconvinced. Still, over the course of the 2018-19 season, Poga was United’s best player in terms of chances created (16 more than Ashley Young and 18 more than Marcus Rashford), shots taken, goals scored, dribbles completed, duels participated in, touches on the pitch, and total number of successful passes.

How is he still then in line for a transfer away from one of the biggest clubs in the world? It is a bizarre situation, where United and their fans seem almost desperate to offload the Frenchman, especially with the arrival and instant impact of Bruno Fernandes. 

The left-back spot is another problem area for United, with Luke Shaw failing to reach the heights he had once promised. The young Brandon Williams has often been selected ahead of him, though the jury is still out on how much ability and talent Williams actually has, as opposed to his undeniable hard work and determination.

The same was said, however, for Scott McTominay, whose absence through was for a period factored into United’s “midfield crisis” that Fernandes’ arrival lifted. 

4. The Solutions to the Problems. What does United do?

Most fans think they have the obvious answer: Sell Paul Pogba.

He would not go for cheap, though, and United will expect to at least make their money back in any sale, with a return to Juventus (possibly involving Paolo Dybala) mooted.

The other alternative is for Pogba to become Real Madrid’s marquee signing, and one can almost imagine how he may be inspired to play under Zinedine Zidane, in his time another fantastically talented French midfielder.

His sale (for a bumper fee or with another superstar name moving the other way) would allow Solskjaer to reshape his United team, especially as it can be very strongly argued that all of Pogba’s supposed contributions have been rendered moot with Bruno Fernandes’ brilliant start to his United career, the Portuguese seeming to be everything United wanted in Pogba, without the drama and distractions.

Finding a way to play them both in the same side would, of course, be the ideal scenario, though it is difficult to see that being a possibility, and it appears increasingly likely that the best outcome for all involved would be for Pogba to leave United, and for the funds to be used to add greater depth in the squad.

A young attacking left-back would be ideal, rounding off United’s revamp of their defensive line, and depending on the development of Andreas Peirera, Tatith Chong, and Diogo Dalot, more reinforcements in wide midfield may also be required.

Offloading Alexis Sanchez and Chris Smalling will also be key, both players on loan in Italy, while Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata are showing their age and Jesse Lingard has not progressed since making his debut as a youngster and already 27, stands every chance of becoming the next Danny Welbeck.

United’s ownership of Dean Henderson poses an interesting question as well, with the Sheffield United goalkeeper impressing tremendously. United might stand to make a tremendous profit from selling the potential England goalkeeper, but equally could very well make him their own No. 1 should they decide to cash in on David De Gea.

5. The Final Grade: B

United’s current position is a difficult one to gauge; they are in a definite ascendency, with every chance of finishing in the Champions League places in the Premier League (they most definitely will do in some shape or form if local rival Manchester City’s European ban is upheld).

They are also in the last 16 of the Europa League, being arguably the strongest side left in the competition, and thus have a second route to the Champions League and all that entails.

Questions remain over the long-term viability of Solskjaer as manager, but it appears he has the gumption to play a style of football that fans enjoy, and with his signings playing well, Champions League qualification may yet usher in a return to the kind of status that they have long craved.