Manchester United Chief Ed Woodward was not a happy man at Molineux on Saturday night after defeat by Wolverhampton.
This was evident when he turned down a request from Norwegian state broadcaster NRK for a quick word.
No doubt they were keen to find out what fate awaits countryman Ole Gunnar Solskjaer , who has to remain a certainty to be made permanent manager at Old Trafford in the summer.
But Woodward has more than Solskjaer‘s coronation on his mind now. United are still waiting to appoint a director of football, a position they’ve been seeking to fill for most of this season. If working alongside Jose Mourinho looked like a political battle waiting to happen, cooperating with Solskjaer should be an easier gig.
It’s a key appointment and it’s one that should set the tone for the summer. Until last week Solskjaer had glossed over the deficiencies in the United squad, but not any longer.
The exposure of the fault lines in this squad – assembled at great expense but very little thought – have been laid bare.
Woodward held firm against Mourinho last summer in a battle of wills over central defensive reinforcements, but the summer transfer window was a disaster for United. Instead of building on second place they regressed. It was the beginning of the end for Mourinho.
On seeing the wonders Solskjaer has worked in the past three months Woodward might have been hoping for another relatively quiet summer. Solskjaer‘s greatest achievement has been covering up the blemishes in the ranks.
But back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Wolves should act as a warning to Woodward and the Glazers, as well as Solskjaer and whomever becomes United’s inaugural director of football. This squad has plenty of individual talent to call upon, but it does not have the depth and structure available at Manchester City and Liverpool and those are the standards United have to reach.
Solskjaer recently played down talk of a title tilt next season and the last couple of weeks have shown us why. When the Norwegian was teasing consistently excellent performances out of players who had sunk under Mourinho there was a sense the narrative around what United needed to do in the transfer window was changing. The overhaul that Mourinho was keen to oversee was being downgraded to a couple of crucial additions.
But the Emirates and Molineux have left that idea in tatters. Perhaps, come the first game in August, we will look back on those setbacks as a necessary evil to instigate the rebuild required.
Forget one or two key signings, United need at least four new faces this summer, maybe more, with around the same number making long overdue departures from Old Trafford. This is a squad lacking balance with far too big a gap in quality between the best performers and those making up the numbers.
Solskjaer had hinted at a change in formation ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final, possibly matching Wolves’ three at the back. But maybe he was put off from going down that route due to the paucity of United’s resources at the back. Eric Bailly’s absence from the matchday squad was a damning indictment of his own standing, while Marcos Rojo has not played in three months.
He’s been on the bench for the last five fixtures but is yet to come close to taking his tracksuit off.
Signing that elusive world-class central defender has to remain a priority this summer. Only when that void is filled will United be able to consider themselves contenders.
But the summer spending shouldn’t end there. There’s a danger of United becoming too predictable in attack, something the acquisition of a playmaker – either to play centrally or wide – would fix.
Then there is the issue of depth. A left-back to compete with Luke Shaw and another high-class midfield option. This is the minimum United.
For too long United have accepted mediocrity since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure. There’s not been a credible title challenge since he left Old Trafford and if that is to change anytime soon this summer is going to be vital.