Manchester United, a club etched into English footballing history for an unrivalled level of domestic success, but of late are failing to reach the same lofty heights.
Two-and-a-half years under Jose Mourinho saw the Red Devils return to the Champions League, but their domestic success has been a far cry from the Sir Alex Ferguson days, leading to the former Chelsea boss being axed ahead of Christmas.
Fancy taking to the dugout as the Portuguese’s successor? Then read on for Football FanCast’s Football Manager 2019 team guide.
The board’s expectations
The only demands for Mourinho’s replacement is that they finish in the top four again, accepting that some rebuilding is necessary for a 21st top-flight crown.
There are no strict objectives to win a trophy or dominate the league, just a minimum expectation to qualify for the Champions League– a competition you compete in, and even the quarter final is enough to satisfy the board.
The FA Cup is a bit more demanding, as they want their day at Wembley in the final, but you are not expected to win the oldest national football competition.
The transfer war chest
Being the global marketing power Manchester United is, the transfer budget matches. At £82million, the war chest is one of the largest you will find on Football Manager 2019, and it is paired with a £500,000 wage allocation.
Three players to buy
Alessandro Florenzi
Neither Antonio Valencia nor Ashley Young are great at right-back, even if Mourinho had persevered with the duo over recent years, and a new first-choice here is a must.
AS Roma’s Alessandro Florenzi is one of the best right-backs around, despite a £28m valuation, and would arrive at Old Trafford with supremely well-rounded attributes, while being able to operate in each right-sided position if needed.
Dries Mertens
A second striker is highly recommended in order to get the most out of Romelu Lukaku,
Dries Mertens would certainly offer a very different style of attacker, and can work in tandem with his fellow Belgian by feeding off each other’s strengths and covering for the other’s weaknesses.
David De Gea
Getting David De Gea to agree to a new contract is the best bit of business you can do at Manchester United. He’s in the final year of his £200k-a-week deal and you would struggle to replace the Spaniard between the sticks, should you either cash in on his £56m valuation or try until the very last moment to convince the 27-year-old to stay.
Watch the video below to check out the hilarious things footballers get up to at Christmas…
Three players to sell
Marouane Fellaini
It’s remarkable how Marouane Fellaini has managed to stay at Manchester United for as long as he has, and with a £31.5m valuation on Football Manager 2019 it’s time that stint came to an end.
The 30-year-old is obviously a strong presence on the ball, but the Belgian struggles to integrate into a system designed to get the most out of his teammates, and his 13 technique, eight vision and seven leadership become even clearer flaws.
Ander Herrera
Ander Herrera is a terrier-like player for Manchester United and comes with a £26m valuation, but he has very average, borderline poor, attributes on FM19.
Naturally, his standout stats are stamina and workrate, but his work on and off the ball is well below the Manchester United par.
Chris Smalling
You only have to sell Chris Smalling if you plan on signing a first team centre-back, as the 28-year-old is a very strong back-up to have for the likes of Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof.
That duo are the clear favourites to start at Manchester United and have a lot of potential to develop, which makes it less key to bring a new man in.
Three for the future
Diogo Dalot
It would be hard to start Diogo Dalot from the off at Manchester United, as he is still very much a work in progress, but what the teenager offers is a future world-class right-back.
Signing a proven defender in their late-20s for a few years while Dalot develops is a great way to go about improving the position, without costing yourself points in the process.
Tahith Chong
The Red Devils are pretty gifted with wonderkids on Football Manager 2019, with another world-class player in the making coming from their academy – after a few years in Feyenoord’s, admittedly.
Tahith Chong can become a striker at Old Trafford for years to come, but he does need a few loan moves before taking on the daunting task of playing a key role for Man United.
Marcus Rashford
You can’t talk about Manchester United products with world-class potential and not mention Marcus Rashford.
The Wythenshawe-born forward is very much suited to the right-wing, but can be deployed at striker to support Lukaku, with Juan Mata on the wing – even at 30, the former Chelsea ace possesses excellent creativity.
