BPL 2015: United aims to return to summit

Back in the Champions League, Louis van Gaal's Manchester United will look to reassert itself as the dominant force in English football, but have they done enough to reclaim the mantle of best in Britain? Find out with TSN.ca's 2014-15 team preview.

Who's in?: Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven, HOL), Matteo Darmian (Torino, ITA), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich, GER), Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton, ENG) and Sergio Romero (Sampdoria, ITA)

Who's out?: Robin van Persie (Fenerbahce, TUR), Radamel Falcao (Monaco, FRA), Nani (Fenerbache, TUR), Tom Cleverley (Everton, ENG), Rafael (Lyon, FRA) and Angel Di Maria (PSG, FRA)

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The Louis van Gaal era kicked off at Old Trafford with his Red Devils achieving the bare minimum that the club set out to accomplish last year in a return to the Champions League.

This year, though, a fourth-place finish will simply not be good enough for the 20-time champions of England.

When van Gaal took over prior to last season, he had a mess on his hands. David Moyes’s attempt to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson did not even last a full season and the champions of England found themselves ignobly knocked off their perch (by City, no less) into seventh spot. Seventh place is a fine result for the West Hams and the Swanseas of the world, but for the self-styled biggest club on earth, it’s an embarrassment. The clinical van Gaal, a taskmaster who preaches philosophy before all else, was chosen to bring prestige back to Old Trafford and the club is on the road back to it thanks in some part to the manager visiting Moyes’s Island of Misfit Toys.

Marouane Fellaini, the embodiment of everything that went wrong under Moyes, reemerged as a jack-of-all trades destroyer just about everywhere on the pitch. Ashley Young, marauding down the flanks, was often the most dangerous man on the pitch. Juan Mata, seemingly bought for the sake of spending money in January of 2014, was liberated in his natural position, producing the kind of football that made him the two-time Chelsea Player of the Year.

Still, for all of van Gaal’s success last season, there were out-and-out failures.

Angel Di Maria, the club’s record signing from Real Madrid, shone quickly, but his lustre faded just as fast. Often played out of position and looking sullen for it, the Argentine’s lasting image in a United kit might be his red card against Arsenal in the FA Cup. Colombian hitman Radamel Falcao’s loan from Monaco ended with a paltry four goals and serious concerns that the ACL injury that kept him out of the World Cup later might be a career derailer. Wayne Rooney produced the smallest goal total of his career with his offensive output hindered by being miscast in a central midfield role.

It seems as though van Gaal has learned from his mistakes.

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin have been brought in to shore up the team’s spine, with United now perhaps boasting its finest central midfield since the heyday of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes. Schweinsteiger’s form over the past few years will give pause for injury concern, but the German international is one of the finest midfield operators of his generation. When he has a healthy complement at his disposal, selecting from Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Michael Carrick and Ander Herrera is an embarrassment of riches for van Gaal.

Rooney is once again a striker and only a striker. As the point man for United’s attack, Rooney will find support from Mata in behind and newly signed Dutch international Memphis Depay on the left. Just 21, Memphis led the Eridivisie in goals last season at PSV with 23, including seven from free kicks. And in case you were wondering, he welcomes the Cristiano Ronaldo comparisons.

On the right could be Pedro, whose arrival at Old Trafford is expected before the transfer window closes. Buried behind Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez at Barcelona, the Spanish international has been offered a significant role to play under van Gaal and the opportunity to firmly ensconce his spot at next summer’s Euro.

While there’s optimism surrounding the midfield forward, questions – potentially big ones – remain at the back.

While Chris Smalling took steps forward last season at the centre of the United defence, Phil Jones remains prone to lapses of calamity. Rather than go out and buy reinforcements (Sergio Ramos was always seemingly a pipe dream), van Gaal has stayed in house and will rely on chameleon Daley Blind at centre-half. As versatile as Blind is, the Dutch international is neither tall nor physically imposing, so worry that Blind might not be up to the role is understandable.

If Luke Shaw can stay healthy, the prospect of him and Matteo Darmian prowling forward on the left and right side, respectively, is an enticing one. Shaw, whose fitness was in question for most of last season, appears to have gotten past his issues of a year ago and van Gaal believes that the former Southampton man is poised to explode.

The biggest question mark, of course, remains in goal.

With all due respect to Manuel Neuer and Thibaut Courtois, it is not unreasonable to call David de Gea the best ‘keeper in the world. A far cry from the gawky 20-year-old kid who came over from Atletico Madrid four seasons ago, de Gea was head and shoulders United’s best player last season and good for at least one highlight-reel save a game. But he’s leaving.

David de Gea is going to Real Madrid. The only thing yet to be decided is when. De Gea only has one year remaining on his contract, but United is perfectly happy to let his deal run out and lose him for nothing next season, rather than to bow down to Real. The Spaniards have lowballed United in transfer negotiations and, in the battle for the unofficial mantle of football’s most important side, appearances mean everything.  United refuses to kowtow to Real in the slightest and that could mean losing out on a significant transfer fee for the ‘keeper.

Still, the possibility that de Gea will leave this summer is a real one (We’ll know how tangible once United names its Champions League playoff roster next week) and it will be up to Sergio Romero to grab the number-one shirt. An Argentine international, Romero is an accomplished ‘keeper, but the EPL is rarely a league where a player doesn’t experience growing pains. Hiccups from a goaltender could be the difference between title contention and falling out of the Champions League places.

On paper, this Manchester United squad is a better one than last season’s edition with a couple of the same question marks. This team should contend for its 21^st title this season and that’s not meant as complimentary, considering the close-to £300 million that van Gaal has spent in the past three transfer windows. While a return to the Champions League was a bare minimum requirement last season for van Gaal, there has to be more this year. Anything less than silverware for the Red Devils in 2015-2016 is abject failure.