Following the 0-0 draw match with the Wolves last Saturday, Manchester United will enjoy a two-week winter break, but truth be told there will be no breather for team manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The Red Devils have yet to taste a win in 2020 and their next foe, Chelsea, will not be an easy conquer.
United seemed optimistic that the January hiring of Bruno Fernandes and Odion Ighalo would translate to better team performances in the second half of the season. The task ahead is daunting - the six points separating United and Chelsea should be easy to overcome, but going by the club's unstable showing to date, making it to Top 4 seems next to impossible.
According to BBC, too many issues are pulling down United and chief of them is the sidelining of key players. There is no telling when strikers Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay will return to the pitch, and the club is unlikely to be boosted by the arrival of Fernandes and Ighalo, at least in the immediate term.
"It is hard to see Ighalo changing the narrative of a season. The same is true of Fernandes," the report said.
Add to Solskjaer's woes is the slumping performance by Anthony Martial, who essentially is the last remaining striker that United can count on. Unfortunately for the club, Martial has yet to score in all seven appearances in 2020.
He will need to pick up soon if Solskjaer has any hope of moving up before the season ends, said the same report.
Perhaps, Martial will be of better use on the pitch if the United boss will make the forward shift from the center to the wing, which according to Express was determined as the most optimal for Martial by former United coach Jose Mourinho.
In most cases, that is at times where United really shines on the pitch, Martial played as a winger, so this should be a cue for the Norwegian boss to make the necessary adjustments, the report added.
It is important too for United to work harder on gaining consistency beginning in the season, and likely that could be achieved by focusing first on the more important things. Understandably, it will only get tougher as the team will be hard-pressed to meet "league and European commitments."
"While United will want to do well in both, prioritizing one could prove beneficial in their pursuit of Champions League football," said the Express report, adding it might be best for the club to concentrate and do well in English football.
And it would help greatly, according to former Liverpool star Jamie Redknapp, if Solskjaer will stop playing safe while doing his job.
"I'd prefer to see manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer take charge and take some risks," Redknapp said, writing for The Daily Mail.
