Manchester United linked with moves for Sean Longstaff & Daniel James

As seasons go for a massive club like Manchester United, the 18/19 campaign was a contender for their worst ever in their modern history.

The Red Devils slumped to a sixth placed finish which saw them concede a record number of goals (53), fail to secure Champions League football lose on no fewer than 10 occasions.

United's poor start to the campaign saw Jose Mourinho sacked in December and replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who after delivering some initial success has now realised the sheer scale of the job that's on his hands to get them competing once again.

United ended the campaign a colossal 32 points behind neighbours City who went on to win back-to-back titles for the first time in their history and there's a number of reasons why they've fallen so behind. But one of the overriding ones appears to be their recruitment strategy.

Ever since the departures of David Gill and Sir Alex Ferguson, United haven't been the buccaneering force on or off the pitch that they once were. The game is changing and we're seeing more & more clubs operating with sporting directors or directors of football who work closely with the management team and present transfer targets.

United have been left behind by their rivals in that respect and it's told. Businessmen run the club with CEO Ed Woodward making some questionable decisions but now they know this summer, they MUST get things right.

Big name marquee signings haven't worked and they need young, hungry players who fit Solskjaer's system. A new era is on the horizon at Old Trafford and they've been strongly linked with two rather surprising names since the transfer window opened yesterday in Newcastle United's Sean Longstaff & Swansea City's Daniel James.

In recent seasons United have splashed out mega money on the likes of Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez so these two signings represent something very different & as you can imagine, social media has been rife with comments on the pair.

Fans of rival clubs have been laughing at the demise of the Red Devils all season but these two signings whilst not being big names could make an impact at Old Trafford. What are you thoughts? Let us know @FootyAccums!

Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2013 Manchester United have seemingly been playing catch up with their rivals both on and off the pitch & now something has to change.

The Red Devils' transfer policy has been, for the large part of it, shambolic and this summer looks like it could spell a different approach.

Big name signings will always be linked with Old Trafford as they always will be but Solskjaer has made it clear he wants players who want to play for the club. Young players who will grow and fight for the shirt so in that respect it's not much of a surprise to see them linked with Longstaff & James.

But the reality of the two potential transfers is whats captured the attention of everyone. Longstaff looks like a tremendous prospect with Newcastle but he's made just 9 Premier League appearances for The Magpies. The bulk of his senior experience comes from playing in League One for Blackpool (2017/18) so joining United would come with an unbelievable amount of pressure.

From his brief time in the side under Rafa Benitez he's looked a real class act with his ability to dictate the play from deep very impressive, so many Man Utd fans would see him as a natural replacement for Michael Carrick. He still has a long way to go in his development so this would represent a big game by United, especially as he still has 3 years to run on his deal Newcastle have all the power in this potential transfer - a big fee would be required to prise him away.

Daniel James on the other hand has more minutes under his belt but all of them have come in the second tier. The Wales international has been a revelation for Swansea City in the Championship and has bags of potential. The winger has scored some fantastic goals for them this season and has absolutely blistering pace - so he'd certainly get fans out of their seats.

He can play on either flank and with United lacking options on the right in particular, he could find minutes which seems bizarre considering he'd never played a senior game before this season. He looked set to join Leeds United in January so moving to Old Trafford would certainly be one of the shocks of the window. A £15m fee is being mooted and he would well be worth the risk at that price.

Fans of rival clubs have been mocking Manchester United since these two rumours came to light but you can certainly see the reasoning behind these moves if they do come to fruition.

They're two excellent prospects and would certain add some determination and hunger to a side that's severely lacking in it at the moment, but despite not chasing big names Longstaff in particular would cost a massive fee.

Away from the pair we've also seen United credited with an interest in Crystal Palace's Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Leicester City's on-loan Monaco midfielder Youri Tielemens - two players who would be absolutely superb additions to the squad.

The pair fit Solskjaer's quota and they both have plenty of experience despite their tender years, so it's going to be interesting to see how these potential deals pan out.

But overall it's going to be an interesting summer off the pitch in Manchester. The club are pressing with plans to bring in a sporting director with former players Darren Fletcher and Rio Ferdinand rumoured to be in the running which would certainly help Solskjaer, who needs all the help he can get at the moment.

We're excited to see how all this pans out. Ed get the chequebook out and pass us the popcorn..