Manchester United 2016-17 season review: Results, roster changes, and summer transfer targets

Job done, just about. Jose Mourinho’s mission to make Manchester United back into a trophy-hoovering monstrosity has, after one year, ended with two cups and a Champions League place, which he’d probably have taken at the beginning of the season. It’s also involved a lot of sniping and paranoia, some inexplicable player exiles, and the shortest press conference in recorded history. Never dull, Manchester United. Except occasionally on the pitch.

We should probably start with the trophies, since they are kind of the point of it all. The League Cup and the Europa League were probably at the bottom of United’s wishlist at the beginning of the season, but circumstance — read: United’s fairly miserable league campaign — meant that the latter became absolutely crucial. Not just as a trophy in itself, but as a back door into the Champions League. Presumably Ed Woodward and Adidas were celebrating just as hard as Mourinho.

There were also, at times, signs of a burgeoning Mourinhosity, which isn’t really a word. At home to Chelsea, and in the Europa League final against Ajax, United ceded possession but controlled the game, neutralised their opponents, and took their chances. The future will hold plenty of arguments about style, identity, and football taught by Matt Busby, but a club appoints Mourinho in the hope of getting Mourinho.

Finally, they pretty much nailed their shopping. Eric Bailly looks excellent and will get better. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was exiled at the beginning of the season and dropped off at the end, but showed flickers of brilliance whenever he was given the chance. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a whole lot of goals. And Paul Pogba was usually good, sometimes excellent, and the team looked far worse in his absence.

There are, broadly speaking, two aspects to Mourinhosity: control the big games, and dominate the small ones. By the end of the season United were able to do the first, just about, but they have struggled with the second all season. And it’s the second that underpins league titles.

This has been particularly noticeable at Old Trafford, where United have regularly failed to beat mid-table teams. Sometimes they’ve even failed to score. Nil-nil draws with Burnley, Hull City, and West Brom; 1-1 draws with Stoke, West Ham, Bournemouth, and Swansea. That’s 14 points dropped in just those seven games. No wonder they finished a distant sixth in the title race.

Those draws are also symbolic of a wider issue. United are more attacking, more creative, and more exciting than they were under Louis van Gaal, but that’s an exceptionally low bar and they didn’t clear it by much. At times they’ve been predictable, and at others they’ve been downright yawn-inspiring. Set against the attacking patterns of their notional rivals, particularly Chelsea and Tottenham, United look pedestrian and even a little outmoded. Whether Mourinho has the chops or the desire to sharpen United up is going to be one of the more interesting aspects of next season.

Mourinho is often derided as a chequebook manager, and United will almost certainly be spending heavily this coming summer. However, one of the most encouraging threads of United’s season was the improvement of many squad members. Marcos Rojo, Sergio Romero, Antonio Valencia, Ander Herrera, Matteo Darmian, and even the much-maligned-often-rightly Marouane Fellaini all responded positively to their new overlord.

Also, the kids seem all right. Marcus Rashford didn’t quite have the same explosive impact as last season — how could he? — but he has ended the season as United’s first-choice striker and takes a mean free kick as well. Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Axel Tuanzebe have both impressed in their limited cameos. And behind him, as seen on the final day of the season, there’s a few more coming through. 16-year-old Angel Gomes became the first Premier League player born in the 21st century, which is frankly appalling.

Working on the assumption that both Wayne Rooney and Ibrahimovic are going to depart, the obvious need is for a striker. Antoine Griezmann has been heavily linked to the point of tedium, and the fact that United have secured Champions League football next season will presumably help things along.

Elsewhere, there’s an obvious space in central defence. Neither Chris Smalling nor Phil Jones have put together a particularly pressing case for a first-team spot, and there can’t be many defenders in Europe that haven’t been linked with United at some point over the season. Burnley’s Michael Keane and Benfica’s Victor Lindelof are two of the more persistently named.

Finally, Michael Carrick’s in his testimonial season, and even if he is given a year’s extension, he’s probably not a first-team fixture. There is a definite vacancy for a midfielder to complement Pogba and Ander Herrera, and the rumour mill seems to think that Monaco’s Tiemoue Bakayoko is the man to fill it. Apparently he’s a friend of Anthony Martial, who we can assume only has good things to say about Mourinho.