How Manchester United should line up next season should they manage to bring in their top transfer targets
Jose Mourinho is still in the market for new faces who would slot right into his starting XI should he land them
MANCHESTER UNITED are hoping to fire themselves back to glory next season.
Jose Mourinho's first year at Old Trafford was a success after winning the Europa League and qualifying for the Champions League.
Now the Premier League and Europe's top competition are surely next on his mind.
But to do so, the Portuguese boss will need to land his transfer targets in order to field the best possible starting XI.
Here, The Peoples Person runs the rule over the ideal United lineup for next season.
David de Gea
MANCHESTER UNITED holding on to De Gea will once again be our best bit of business if he is still here on September 1.
Sergio Romero might have done very well in the Europa League last year but De Gea is one of the world’s best goalkeepers. He’ll be our undoubted No1 next year.
Man United transfer news
Antonio Valencia
FEW expected Valencia to have such a wonderful season at right-back but he corrected his positional discipline and turned himself into one of the best in the Premier League.
No player in United’s squad completed more crosses than him and with Romelu Lukaku in the side, Valencia’s importance might be even more obvious next year.
Eric Bailly
I LOVE Bailly. There, I said it.
His no nonsense, aggressive style makes it easy for fans to back him and it’s not hard to see why.
I need to keep reminding myself Bailly is still only 23 because he’s already top drawer, so if he keeps progressing at the rate he did before he went to the African Nations Cup, Bailly can grow into one of the world’s best defenders.
Victor Lindelof
NOW, Lindelof might have had a shaky start out on the pre-season tour but make no mistake - his arrival is huge for United.
Bailly needs a ball-playing centre-back partner so he can be the aggressive defender and Lindelof matches him perfectly.
I’m convinced it’s just a matter of time before he settles in and shows exactly why Mourinho signed him.
Luke Shaw
UNITED desperately missed having an overlapping left-back last year but I have every confidence Shaw will return to his best.
Mourinho has shown faith by keeping him in the squad and I think Shaw will start repaying him straight away against West Ham.
Fabinho
IF there is one position where United need a new signing, it is absolutely a defensive midfielder and there is nobody more suited to us than Fabinho.
The Frenchman's arrival would free up Paul Pogba to control the creative aspect of United’s attacking play and protect our back-four as well, so we desperately need somebody of Fabinho’s quality to sure up our midfield.
Paul Pogba
EVERYBODY laughed when Mourinho said Pogba would make the £89million fee United paid for him look like a bargain.
Mark my words - he will do exactly that this year.
Pogba’s influence at United continues to grow every game and now he has his good friend Romelu Lukaku up top, expect the assists to come far more regularly.
I can’t wait to see him play this year.
Ander Herrera
HERRERA operated as both a central and defensive midfielder last season and how he plays next term largely depends on who Mourinho signs.
I’d rather see Herrera play as the right central midfielder so we can make the most of his attacking qualities too.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
IT IS safe to say Mkhitaryan’s first season was underwhelming but the Armenian midfielder will change that this year.
I get the feeling he will genuinely feel like a new signing and his early pre-season form suggests that is the case.
I’m expecting Mkhitaryan to be our most improved player next season.
Romelu Lukaku
THE big man. Lukaku scored 25 goals for Everton last season, I think he’ll get more than 30 with Pogba, Herrera, Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata et al feeding him chances for fun.
Mourinho will adapt United’s style of play somewhat to get the most out of Lukaku and I’m really confident he’ll score plenty.
Anthony Martial
THIS is a huge season for Martial.
He didn’t hit the dizzy heights of his debut campaign under Mourinho and question marks surrounded his future but his form on the pre-season has reminded fans of just how good he is.
With Martial and Mkhitaryan on the flanks and playing well, United will have a devastating front line.
Honourable mentions
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
WHENEVER I heard Ibrahimovic was using Carrington as his base to rehabilitate his injury, I thought a short-term deal from January onwards was on the cards and that opinion hasn't changed.
Imagine Ibrahimovic coming in halfway through the season? What a signing that would be.
Ivan Perisic
IF United do finally complete the signing of Perisic, then he'd be fighting with Martial for that starting spot out on the left.
One thing Perisic brings which Martial doesn't is his natural instinct to go outside the full-back to swing a cross in.
That is a style which could see Lukaku score headers aplenty and if he does join it's the main reason I'd be excited to see what he can do.
Twitter: @PeoplesPerson_
Facebook: ThePeoplesPerson
