MANCHESTER UNITED were supposed to be turning a page this summer with the arrival of Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
After a decade of mediocrity, top football decision-makers were appointed into key positions while bold plans for the development of club facilities including Old Trafford were announced.
Huge investment was made into the squad, with a long-term plan in mind and with “Project 150” – a plan to win the league by 2028 to celebrate the club’s 150th birthday – being laid down.
However, the five players who arrived at the club this summer seem to have been afflicted by the United curse, with injuries and poor form plaguing the £172million buys.
The quintet of Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte were backed to help transform Erik ten Hag’s team by strengthening a number of key areas.
But disaster struck in pre-season as teen sensation Yoro was ruled out for at least three months after fracturing his metatarsal, while Zikrzee, 24, arrived off the back of the Euros and did not join full training immediately.
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The Dutch ace managed to climb off the bench to score the winner against Fulham on the opening weekend, but he has struggled to get up to speed and has yet to score again.
De Ligt and Mazraoui both arrived from Bayern Munich in what many thought was a fairly shrewd double-deal.
However, a solid start for De Ligt, 25, quickly transformed into him looking out of his depth in the Premier League – so much so he was dropped for Harry Maguire in their most recent match against Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, Mazraoui, 26, has generally been consistent, but he was hit with an injury of his own and is out for the next three weeks after undergoing a procedure following heart palpitations.
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The final signing, Ugarte, endured an underwhelming start to life in England and was an unused sub in the 0-0 draw at Villa, and that was before he was hit by his own injury blow while on international duty.
A report highlighted by Henry Winter said United had 75 injuries last season, a fact bemoaned by Ten Hag given his inability to maintain a stable defence.
This figure was just one behind Newcastle on 76, but no club suffered a greater financial cost with their injuries, with the Red Devils losing £33.1m in wages.
That same curse seems to once again be threatening to distort their season, though it would do nothing to cover the poor performances seen against the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham when a near full-strength side was fielded.
Two wins from seven league games has seen United make their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, while they are also winless from two games in the Europa League.
Man Utd host Brentford at Old Trafford next, and the players will know the fans are desperate for the sweet taste of victory – having not won a game for a month.
How badly they could do with some of their new signings stepping up.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
