Man United among 3 clubs with selection questions to answer
Published:As the return of Premier League action is greeted with raucous cheer from the countless international-break detractors, more than a handful of top-flight managers must find ways of fitting their what-seems-like-yonks-ago-deadline-day buys into their starting XI.
For some, like Arsene Wenger, their new buys will fill gaps on the teamsheet with minimum effort, but for these three bosses a few follicles could be scratched away when picking their team:
Man United
Louis van Gaal added two more men to his Red Devil-revolution on deadline day and could try to find a way of getting Radamel Falcao, Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Angel Di Maria into one team.
But far more likely is that Mata drops to the bench with Daley Blind joining Di Maria in the middle of Van Gaal’s preferred 3-5-2 system and Rooney operating as a 10 behind the new-look Colombian and Dutch strike force.
Hull City
Steve Bruce was the most active top-flight manager on deadline day and revitalised Hull’s attack with four additions to the Tigers’ midfield and forward line.
Similar to his former club, the ex-Man Utd skipper has set his team up in a 3-5-2 this year, but could well shift to a more conventional 4-3-3 in order to accommodate his new men.
Teaming Mohamed Diame up with Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore seems a given, but dropping the likes of Tom Ince and Nikica Jelavic is a tougher proposition in order to birth an attacking trio of Hatem Ben Arfa, Gaston Ramirez and Abel Hernandez.
West Ham
While the Hammers’ midfield number was truncated with Diame’s exit, Sam Allardyce quickly wrapped gauze around any wound with the addition of two new bodies.
After an impressive loan spell with West Brom last season, Morgan Amalfitano could usurp Ricardo Vaz Te from the wing, while Alex Song has every right to expect an immediate starting berth alongside Mark Noble in the centre.
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