With the World Cup frenzy having finally concluded, Premier League clubs can now get back to their transfer business as they try and finalise their squads before the start of the 2018-19 season. With the transfer window closing on 9th August this year instead of the traditional 31st of August, expect a flurry of deals being closed in the next couple of weeks. Every English top flight club, with the exception of Tottenham, Everton and Burnley have already signed at least one player, with the most notable ones being Riyad Mahrez (Man City), Fabinho (Liverpool), Jorginho (Chelsea) and Fred (Man Utd).
United’s signing of Fred in particular could signal trouble for some players at Old Trafford. The Brazilian midfielder arrived for a sum of £52 million on the 5th of June from Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk. He’d been linked heavily with Man City in January, as Pep Guardiola stepped up his pursuit of a central midfielder, but the deal didn’t go through.Known for his all-round abilities in midfield, Fred is equally impressive in both attack and defense, the prototype of the modern day box-to-box midfielder.
Its safe to assume that Mourinho intends to utilise him in a midfield trio with Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba. Matic is your typical defensive midfielder, there are few players in the Premier League more imposing than him. He adds steel to a midfield that looked dangerously fragile before his arrival, and was one of United’s stand-out outfield players last season.