United's new signing David de Gea
Richard Norton on how well-placed the champions are to retaining their title…
How happy are you with your side’s summer transfer business?
It would be churlish not to be happy with United’s summer dealings. After seasons of media sniping over the Glazers’ perceived tightness (especially considering the Ronaldo transfer fee) it seems they have finally stumped up the goods.
I think most fans will feel happy with the players brought in – especially that van der Sar has been potentially covered by two exciting players in David De Gea and Anders Lindegaard. Ashley Young and Phil Jones come into well stocked positions and so will have to fight to get into the team, Jones especially.
All that remains is for United to replace Paul Scholes, a very difficult task. Should we land Wesley Sneijder I’ll be ecstatic, but the signs don’t really point that way.
What do you expect from your team this season?
1st. Anything else would be a failure.
Who will be your star man?
This is a very difficult question to answer, United have so many potential stars in their squad. Wayne Rooney, Nani and my personal favourite Luis Antonio Valencia come to mind, and I feel like I’m doing them a disservice by not giving them the nod. However, I’m going to have to plump for Javier Hernandez (I refuse to call him Chicharito). I think this is his season to become of the world’s most exciting and coverted players, as well as already being an all round nice lad.
What young player do you expect to emerge and make an impact?
Again, with United’s entire strategy predicated around youth, it’s difficult to decide when a player has ‘emerged’ and become a full fledged member of the squad. Smalling was the young hit of last season and I expect him to assume a more central role this year.
My pick for this year though is Tom Cleverley, who I really hope gets the time and space to show what he is capable of. I know most United fans would love another homegrown midfield wizard – regardless of hair colour.
