On The Ball | Manchester United’s Donny van de Beek a solid signing but first team requires further bolstering

Manchester United fans welcomed the signing of attacking midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax this week. He’s 23, his price of £35 million (HK$360 million) is right for a coveted player with a proven Champions League pedigree. In addition, he’ll provide competition and backup when it’s needed in a packed fixture schedule and a return to top-level European football.

United started last season with a squad which was too weak and became quickly exposed by injury. One signing is not enough. United need a star to improve their first eleven if they’re to push harder to close the gap on Manchester City and Liverpool – and stay above heavily bolstered Chelsea and an improving Arsenal.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is doing a good job on many levels. He’s a decent judge of a player, but when he said he needed two or three more to have a team capable of competing for the title, that was a minimum. And those players should be top players who improve the first eleven, not fillers.

United’s squad still needs strengthening. It was apparent in the FA Cup games against Norwich and Chelsea when weaker sides were put out and struggled. Look at Manchester City’s bench and how they can switch six or seven players when playing a smaller Premier League side at home and still win. Or United’s bench in the 2008 Champions League final, which included Nani, Ryan Giggs, Anderson, John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher and Mikael Silvestre.

These were champions and established internationals from top teams. Park Ji-sung, a cracking player, didn’t even make the bench. That bench could affect the first 11 in any area. When the forwards looked light with ‘only’ Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Solskjaer, Ferguson signed Dwight Yorke and shared games between the four strikers – to treble-winning effect.