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Man United proves he’s good again, but the Glazers will invest to help them return to glory

BIRMINGHAM, England – Something is starting to move to Manchester United. After seven years of decline and stems from when Sir Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013, Thursday’s 3-0 win at Aston Villa was just the latest example of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team’s upward trajectory.

In January, Solskjaer was struggling for his coaching future after losing streaks against Liverpool and Burnley, but six months later, United now have 17 unbeaten games in all competitions and is heading for Champions League qualification. At this rate, with opponents being regularly eliminated from the eyes, they will not have to rely on the back-door pass of the fifth and take Manchester City’s place in the competition – if their neighbors have the Court’s two-year ban confirmed by UEFA of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

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In this type of form, with the teenage feeling Mason Greenwood scoring again and Paul Pogba back on the scoreboard for the first time since April 2019, United could even make it to third place if they continue to rack up wins. But with the sun starting to shine again at Old Trafford, it is now up to the United owners, the Glazer family, and executive vice president Ed Woodward to seize the momentum and not allow the opportunity to return to the highest slide among the fingers.

Despite all the progress made by United in recent months, especially since the arrival of January with Bruno Fernandes, there is still work to be done to transform this team into a team capable of dethroning the champions of the Premier League Liverpool and competing among the elite in Champions League. But will the Glazers recognize the opportunity they now have to narrow the gap and accelerate United’s return to the top table? Or will they allow the moment to pass and leave Solskjaer to take the long road back to the place where the club once stood?

With Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admitting that his club is unlikely to make significant purchases and that City’s recruiting plans depend on the outcome of their appeal to CAS, Chelsea took the rare opportunity this summer to approach the first two by signing Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and Timo Werner from RB Leipzig. They could also sign Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz.

United is the favorite to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Winger Jadon Sancho, but even if he lands in England, he will still need at least two, and maybe even three, key additions to be truly competitive next season. Why not make mistakes, this United team still has flaws to correct.

The recent race has raised morale and conviction, but since the resumption of football following the forced closure of COVID-19, the Solskjaer team has beaten only Sheffield United, Brighton and the three teams on a relegation course: Villa, Bournemouth and Norwich. On Thursday at Villa Park, United never risked giving up their unbeaten run, with Fernandes, Greenwood and Pogba all scoring an easy win. Indeed, United could and should have won more. Yet, even during their streak in five games, United appeared vulnerable in the back, with goalkeeper David De Gea and captain Harry Maguire showing their frailties more than once.

United’s defensive record is the third best in the Premier League, with 33 conceded, but a midfield with a real rhythm could cut perhaps 8-10 goals per season and this would put them in the title challengers’ band. That type of player is not cheap, but having invested £ 80 million on Maguire, he may need to spend a similar amount on a complementary half of the field to play alongside him.

In midfield, United have always had control over Villa, although Nemanja Matic has been taken in too often. Against better teams, the 32-year-old would have been punished, and although Scott McTominay is waiting behind the scenes, the addition of a defensive midfielder from N’Golo Kante would immediately make United more formidable. Prior to this game, speculation about Villa’s Jack Grealish with a move to United had intensified, but on these tests, the midfielder is not the answer for Solskjaer’s team.

With Fernandes and Pogba, United is already blessed by world-class creators in midfield and, although Grealish has promised, it is still somewhat short of being a player who can make a difference at the highest levels. Thursday was the perfect case so far, as in a game that his team desperately needed to win, Grealish had no impact.

Villa, on this display, is heading towards relegation, but the picture is much brighter for United. Qualifying for the Champions League will increase Solskjaer’s transfer budget and make United even more attractive for potential purchases, so they should push themselves to an open door when it comes to improving.

But now it depends on the Glazers. Solskjaer gave United a platform on which to build a winning team again. Now is the time to take advantage and return to the top.

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