Squad Overview: Navigating the 2024/25 Season
Manchester United, so far, having used 17 players across their opening two Premier League matches in games against Brighton and Fulham, would be surprising. Perhaps even more so, is nearly every player featuring in both games, which goes on to show ten Hag's early rotation policy in the campaign. The strategy is to keep the squad fit and in form as the team balances domestic and European action.
Manchester United's website releases an official squad list of 31 names. Erik ten Hag did, in fact, use 31 players last season, but this group is, obviously, considerably different. Of those, only 27 players started, and even fewer—24—started more than just once. Only 20 players recorded five appearances or more, a nice statistical quirk that certainly speaks to the manager's reliance on no more than a core group of regular starters.
The Role of Young Talent and Squad Regulations
A significant loophole in the squad management this campaign is the Premier League's rules surrounding Under-21 players. The league can have as many U-21s played or even registered so as to satisfy the age criterion. Coming into play on the 2024/25 campaign, having to be born post-January 1, 2003 works to their benefits, to a situation that this does not count towards the squad size. This situation benefits United most—one will not be seen in the team colors.
United's treble-winning Under-18 side from last year contributes much of this young talent pool. Players such as Harry Amass and Ethan Wheatley shone in the preseason and are due to feature with the senior team. Whereas Toby Collyer is a current 20-year-old who is impressing in Premier League 2.
Strategic Decisions: Ramping Up Defence and Player Homogeny
Manuel Ugarte makes United's threadbare midfield become a little less so. He is part of a bigger strategic revamping, which the officials look to bring about with possible outgoings, such as Jadon Sancho and some others. With Ugarte's inclusion in the team, among the other new signings, Ten Hag has shown clearly that he is eyeing a rise in areas where he deems that the squad should be strengthened more.
Despite the apparent absence of the younger potentials in the squad list above, a glance down their squad list indicates other ways the roles of Kobbie Mainoo are clearly not sidelined. Their flexibility under the Premier League's Under-21 regulations ensures that such players can still give good contributions across the season without breaching the upper limit of allowed squad members.
The Final Squad and a Glimpse of Next Season
It would finally determine the squad with which United would go forward into the season. Ten Hag, together with Ugarte and more, would actually promise a complete outfit that could fight on several fronts. The strategic inclusions of youth and transfer matters will determine the ascendancy that United is trying to build on from their successes and, in fact, fill any gaps from the rosters.
In brief, the transfer of Manuel Ugarte will be another moment for Manchester United when it comes to getting themselves through a season under the senior players and young players that bear the burdens of it. As Van Gaal copes with these issues, it is the leeway within the guidelines in the Premier League and the strategic depth added by such new signings as Ugarte that might be key.
