2.Manchester United
We now move on to the red half of Manchester who has seen their best league finish since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club. Whatever the critics might say about Jose Mourinho and his style of play. United have improved a lot from when he joined.
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What's disappointing for Jose and the United fans ahead of this season is the summer transfer window signings or lack thereof. United have made very niche signings trying to fix their deficiencies in the squad, bucking their trend of having 'big money' marquee signings ( Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba). Jose has expressed his concerns about the support he has received from the United board who are right to have their own apprehensions as Mourinho's third season at a club rarely meets with success. A lot of things have been said about United and their style of play in the press but Jose has delivered trophies however significant or insignificant they might be. Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochentino who have both done a great job at their respective clubs but still haven't delivered trophies, not a lot is said about that in the media.
United's issues still lie in the defense where Jose hasn't had a back four he can rely on for a majority of the season, the two defenders he signed ( Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof) since taking the job have barely featured together, but the most important issue I feel is the first choice fullbacks ( Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia), they are not dynamic enough nor do they have the delivery from wide areas that they used to have. Diogo Dalot is a good signing but I don't think he'll be featuring at the start of the season. The kind of performances Paul Pogba turned up within the World Cup, there's no doubt about his quality or his temperament to perform on the biggest of stages, the question that irks most United fans is whether or not he'll be provided a platform to get the most out of him. With Jose's backroom staff having a re-shuffle, consistency in the league will be difficult to achieve, I expect them to fair better in the knockout competitions they take part in.
Key player: Paul Pogba
