FIVE-POINT PLAN

1 PLUG THE LEAKS It’s essential the Red Devils recruit a commanding central defender to fill the gaping hole that has been at the heart of the their back four since the departures of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand in the summer of 2014. Last season, the underwhelming and error-prone pair of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones led to United conceding a club-record 54 Premier League goals. 2 SECURE DE GEA’S FUTURE United need to rouse David de Gea out of the uncharacteristic slump he endured at the end of last season, during which he made a succession of errors. The ongoing saga of whether he signs a new deal will not have helped his state of mind, and United need to quickly come to an agreement with the Spanish stopper. 3 INSPIRE MARTIAL One of the clauses in Anthony Martial’s contract states United have to make an extra payment to former club Monaco if he wins the Ballon d’or. That might seem faintly ridiculous now, but the winger has the ability to reach those levels. Solskjaer must find a way to transform him from a player that can stroll through games into a genuinely world-class talent. 4 REBUILD THE MIDFIELD United must start the campaign with more than one new signing in midfield. Ander Herrera has left for Paris Saint-germain, Nemanja Matic is too slow and Paul Pogba is agitating for a move away. While Fred and Scott Mctominay showed some potential last term, they are not solutions alone, and the club need to make bold and, in all likelihood, costly changes in this area. 5 TRUST IN YOUTH As a former United reserve team manager, Solskjaer is committed to the club’s tradition of giving young players a chance, but he has to do it even more this season. Quite aside from young recruits Daniel James and Aaron Wan-bissaka, the fearlessness and bravado of emerging academy talents like Mason Greenwood, Tahith Chong and Angel Gomes could give United the surge of confident energy they so urgently require this season.