Will Manchester United make a good start to next season?

Manchester United is one of the top Premier League clubs with a point to prove next season after they underperformed in the 2023/2024 season, although it ended positively for them.

In the 2022/2023 season, United was one of the top clubs in England and Europe, and fans were impressed with the way they performed. They finished inside the top four, won the Carabao Cup, and reached the final of the FA Cup.

It was one of the best ways for any manager to end his first season, and Erik Ten Hag was praised for how his team played.

The former Ajax boss arrived at Old Trafford and turned them into one of the best clubs to watch and transformed the career of Marcus Rashford, who found the back of the net more than 30 times.

However, last term, United regressed as their team failed to meet the high expectations they had set in the previous campaign, eventually finishing the season outside the European places.

Winning the FA Cup means they will play in the Europa League next season, and their fans expect them to win it, as well as several other trophies.

Ten Hag endured a tough season on the United bench as injuries decimated his team, and they had a torrid time on the pitch.

Some fans suspected that it would be his last season as their manager, and United reportedly interviewed some coaches, including Thomas Tuchel, this summer.

But the club settled on keeping him and handed him a one-year extension until 2026, which gives Ten Hag a chance to show that last season was an isolated case and that he is a good manager.

How the season is shaping up

Manchester United tickets have always been among the top-selling in the Premier League every season, and their fans are buying as many as possible on Seatsnet.

This is because things are shaping up well for the club, considering the moves they are making this summer.

United’s first big decision was to hand Ten Hag a new contract after a vote of confidence, and they bolstered his backroom staff with two good coaches.

Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake have been added to the backroom staff at the club to help Ten Hag.

Benni McCarthy has been a first-team coach at the club since 2022, but they have refused to extend his contract, so he will leave this summer.

United recognises the need for change and has been taking good steps to ensure that things will be different and better next term.

This is a time for clubs to make signings and improve their options, and the Red Devils have been doing well in that regard.

They are reportedly close to signing Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich, and he will also be joined by Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee.

The Red Devils' defence and attack were problem spots last season, and they are taking steps to address them.

De Ligt remains one of the finest defenders in Europe, even though his time at Bayern Munich has not been as successful as he would have liked.

He worked with Ten Hag at Ajax, where he was named the captain as a teenager, and their reunion will be a happy one for the coach and defender.

He joins them as a replacement for Raphael Varane, who struggled to cope with the intensity of the Premier League last season.

Zirkzee fired Bologna to Champions League football last season and has been linked with a move to Arsenal, Juventus, AC Milan, and several other top European clubs.

The attacker will arrive at Old Trafford as a replacement for Anthony Martial, whose spell promised much but delivered little.

United’s summer is shaping up to be even better than most people expected, and their fans will hope it turns into a successful season.

Can United outperform their 2023/2024 season?

Last season was one of United’s worst campaigns, and it was made to look terrible because the team had been in fantastic form in the previous campaign.

The Red Devils had performed well during the 2022/2023 season, but they regressed last term, so fans do not even want them to be as bad as they were in the last campaign, despite winning the FA Cup.

We have already discussed how the club is shaping up for next season, and it seems clear that they will perform better.

However, to outperform themselves from last term, they will require a good start to the season, and it will depend on the performance of other clubs, too.

The Premier League becomes tougher every season, which is why it is difficult for clubs to stay up when they get promoted.

This is because even the big clubs are not relaxing, and continue strengthening their squad every summer.

United looks on course to perform better than last season, but we might get some hints when their preseason games begin.

Will pre-season results be important?

Most teams do not take pre-season games seriously, and some stars are not at their best during the preparatory games for a new season.

This summer will be even more complicated for the clubs and managers around Europe because several players are already competing at Euro 2024.

This will delay their return to pre-season, especially the active players in the sem-final and final of the competition.

Thankfully, Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo are the only Manchester United players still in the competition at this stage, but Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes were only eliminated at the quarterfinal stage.

They will be handed extended breaks, so Ten Hag will have to work with the players available for most, if not all, of their pre-season games.

This means that as Manchester United faces Rangers later this month, and Arsenal on the 27th of July, they will not have some of their important players back in training.

However, some fans will judge their chance of having a good season by the way the team performs in their pre-season games.

Competitive matches in August

Manchester United’s first competitive game of the new season will be against Manchester City in the Community Shield.

The Red Devils secured their spot in this fixture by winning the FA Cup against the same opponent and would be eager to start the season finely with another win.

Their next fixture would be against Fulham, their first Premier League game of the season, and that will be one of the most interesting matches to watch on the opening weekend.

The Red Devils would then face Brighton in their final fixture in August, which would be another difficult game for them to win at the start of next season.

Erik Ten Hag and his players know the importance of starting the season strongly, and we expect them to work hard to win that game.

Conclusion

Manchester United remains one of the biggest clubs in English football, and next season is another campaign for them to try and win the league.

A good start might not be the most important part of a season. However, it helps when your team begins the campaign well, and United fans will be hoping for that next season.