Might sound a bit odd to say, but what impact will Maguire have on the functioning of our midfield? With Smalling at the back, if Lindelof wasn't playing we had a back line completely incapable of playing out from the back.
Maguire is known for his ability to bring the ball out of defence, and Lindelof is also a good passer. Will this allow our midfield to play higher up the pitch to support our attack and have a greater influence on our play? Surely the likes of Fred will have less calamitous moments not having to collect the ball deep, and Pogba not having to drop back to almost his own 18 yard line to kickstart attacks can only be a positive.
Surely Pogba and the likes of Mata, Fred, Lingard or whoever will be playing central can only benefit from Lindelof and Maguire's ability to distribute quality ball into attacking areas, leaving the likes of Matic to focus solely on protecting the back line. I hope Matic has a better season, in fairness it can't be any worse than last season. But being 30, he came off the back of a Wolrd Cup campaign with a bad injury, missed pre season completely and looked off the pace for the entire season. Here's hoping that was a major factor and he can find some form.
His qualities are defending the space behind him, cutting off passing lanes, is very good in the air and when he's playing well is positionally good too. These aren't qualities that should decline with age, so fingers crossed he can regain some form.
Have high hopes for Fred and McTominay, but I'm not deluded into thinking they will make waves this season, but hopefully both can be effective and bring an extra level than they showed last season with some added experience.
Pogba needs to be given a free licence to use his ability to affect the game. Shackeling him is just a waste of his talent. Yes he should still work defensively, yes we should require 100% commitment, but we need to play him in a way that maximises his ability to influence the game. That has to come first, or else why bother playing him?
Less doom and gloom, and let's focus on the positives. It has to depend on how we approach games. The sum of the parts has to be greater as a whole than the individual pieces. Playing games on the front foot with a higher tempo, with positive play full of intent and energy has to be the goal for this season. Fix that, and we've already come a long way, regardless of signings and quality of player. Fix our style of play, give the team some identity and purpose should one of our main goals this season, along with results of course.