It is fair to say that this season has not gone to plan for Manchester United after yet another crushing defeat, this time at the hands of Fulham in the FA Cup.
The Red Devils were beaten on penalties by the Cottagers after a 1-1 draw in regulation time, as Andre Onana failed to save any penalties and Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee both missed from the spot.
Ruben Amorim has now lost ten of his 24 matches in charge of the club since he came in to replace Erik Ten Hag earlier this term, and the Europa League is the last available trophy for him to win to avoid a trophyless debut campaign.
As club legend Wayne Rooney said in the clip above, it was yet another disappointing result against Fulham when they had a great opportunity to progress.
Questions will be asked and fingers will be pointed when assigning blame over this season, but the recruitment department should be looked at.
United allowed a number of players to move on from Old Trafford and one star they may, now, regret cashing in on is central midfielder Scott McTominay.
Scott McTominay’s form since leaving Man Utd
The Scotland international made the move to the Serie A and has not looked back, as he has caught the eye for Antonio Conte’s side in Italy this season.
McTominay has found the back of the net six times from an xG of 5.16 in 24 appearances in the Italian top-flight, whilst he has also created two ‘big chances’ and registered two assists for his team.
Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes (six) is the only central midfielder who has scored more than one goal for United in the Premier League, and the only one to manage more than one assist (two).
This suggests that the Red Devils are lacking another midfielder, alongside Bruno, who can chip in with goal contributions from the middle of the park, as McTominay has done for Napoli in the current campaign.
However, the Scottish star’s troubles out of possession remain an issue. He has lost 52% of his duels and only averaged 1.3 tackles per game, whilst five United central midfielders averaged more than 1.3 tackles per match in the top-flight.
There are, therefore, positives and negatives to his performances, but United could certainly have done with another player who could pop up with a goal against Fulham, as they scored once in 120 minutes at home.
Allowing the midfield academy graduate to move on from Old Trafford is far from the only recruitment mistake the club have made in recent seasons, as they may regret allowing long-serving goalkeeper David De Gea to walk away for nothing even more.
David De Gea’s improved form
The Spanish shot-stopper was released on a free transfer in the summer of 2023 after he endured a frustrating final season in the Premier League with the Red Devils.
There is no hiding away from the fact that the experienced titan was not at his best that season. De Gea ended the top-flight campaign with -1.55 goals prevented and three errors that led to shots or goals in 38 appearances in the division.
This suggests that he conceded more goals than the average goalkeeper would be expected to based on the quality of shots that he faced, whilst the Spaniard also made too many unforced errors.
De Gea took a year away from the game in the 2023/24 campaign before signing for Italian side Fiorentina last summer, and he has thrived since his move to the Serie A.
|
David De Gea |
22/23 Premier League |
24/25 Serie A |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
38 |
24 |
|
Save percentage |
70% |
73% |
|
Penalties saved |
1/3 |
2/3 |
|
Goals prevented |
-1.55 |
+0.06 |
|
Pass accuracy |
68% |
69% |
|
Error led to shot |
1 |
0 |
|
Error led to goal |
2 |
0 |
As you can see in the table above, the 34-year-old colossus has performed far better in the Italian top-flight this season than he did in his last year at United.
This is why the Red Devils may regret allowing De Gea, who was once dubbed “phenomenal” by Rio Ferdinand, to walk away for nothing in 2023, particularly when you compare his form to Onana’s.
Why Man United should regret releasing De Gea
United swooped to sign the Cameroon international from Inter ahead of the 2023/24 campaign and it is fair to say that the shot-stopper has had his fair share of struggles in 18 months or so at Old Trafford to date.
Onana made one error that led to a goal and one that led to a shot in the Premier League last term and two errors that led to goals and two that led to shots in the Champions League.
De Gea made two errors that led to goals in his final Premier League campaign at the club, but he seems to have got those mistakes out of his system based on his form for Fiorentina.
Instead of ditching him at the first signs of trouble, United could have kept hold of the veteran and put their faith in him to turn his form around, as he has now done in Italy.
|
Andre Onana (24/25) |
Premier League |
Europa League |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
27 |
6 |
|
Goals prevented |
-0.12 |
-0.01 |
|
Error led to shot |
1 |
0 |
|
Error led to goal |
3 |
1 |
|
Save percentage |
65% |
68% |
As you can see in the table above, the 28-year-old stopper has slightly underperformed with the shots against his goal, whilst he has also been far too error prone across the Premier League and the Europa League.
These statistics suggest that it may have been a mistake to let De Gea walk for nothing because the player they signed to replace him is now being outperformed by the veteran Spaniard, who has been in fantastic form for Fiorentina.
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Therefore, letting De Gea leave for nothing was an even worse decision than the one to sell McTominay because his current form suggests that he would come in as a big upgrade on Onana, whilst the Scottish midfielder still struggles in some areas that current United midfielders excel in.
