Manchester United has wrapped up an expensive summer with the signing of FC Barcelona’s star forward Pedro.
Pedro was bought by United to (hopefully) replace departing star Angel Di Maria. Di Maria has been released from the Manchester club to join French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for almost 45 million pounds, whereas, Pedro was bought for only 22 million pounds.
This signing has increased Manchester United’s off-season spending mark to 100 million pounds, following the signings of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin and Matteo Darmian.
However, the summer has not come without dramas. After Robin van Persie’s departure, Manchester United lacked their usual attacking confidence when they played PSG a fortnight ago, allowing the French side to get the better of the Red Devils.
Prior to that match, United didn’t seem too worried about anything, defeating FC Barcelona 3-1.
Will Manchester United’s signings pay off though?
Bastian Schweinsteiger
Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw said that the “massive legend” can be the one that makes the difference in the upcoming Premier League season.
He played exactly 500 matches in his 13 years at Bayern Munich and scored 67 goals. Additionally, the 31-year-old also has over 100 caps for Germany, including a World Cup victory in 2014.
Memphis Depay
The 21 year-old is keen to take the number 7 shirt from Angel di Maria in his first season for the club. He began his career at PSV Eindhoven where he played 124 matches and scored 50 goals.
Depay was part of the Dutch national U17 team which won the 2011 European Championship, followed by appearances for the Netherlands in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Morgan Schneiderlin
He began his career with Strasbourg, before moving to the English Premier League to play for Southampton in June 2008. He made 230 appearances and scored 14 goals.
He also appeared at the FIFA World Cup last year for France before joining Manchester United for a reported fee in excess of 25 million pounds.
Matteo Darmian
Darmian joined United for 12.9 million pounds, signing for four years with the possibility of a fifth. He described his move to Manchester United as a “dream come true” and says he wants to prove himself in the Premier League.
Pedro
The Spanish 28 year-old will have to wait to play for Manchester United until after FC Barcelona’s European Super Cup match against Sevilla. During the 2009-10 season at Barcelona, he became the first player in history to score in six different official club competitions during the one season (this achievement was later matched by teammate Lionel Messi).
Louis van Gaal has certainly given the other teams a surprise with these signings.
What can we expect from Manchester United this season?
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