Our season ended in underwhelming fashion on Sunday with the 1-1 draw against Southampton underlining the sort of disappointment we've all felt throughout the past ten months. But don't despair; now is the time to look forward with Louis van Gaal expected to be announced as David Moyes's successor any day now, while this summer will provide a much-needed opportunity to take stock and re-build. Watching our neighbours in Blue lift the Premier League yesterday wasn't easy, but there is still plenty to be optimistic about, with new faces set to make their way to Old Trafford in the coming weeks and months. Surely the debacle of the last transfer window - in which our only acquisition was Marouane Fellaini - will not be repeated, with van Gaal all set to ring the changes as he looks to take us back to the glory days. But what sort of player will he go for, and who can we expect to see trotting out at the Theatre of Dreams when the 2014-15 campaign gets underway? Though van Gaal is a typically unpredictable individual, here, we attempt to predict the incoming Red Devils boss's First 10 Signings as Manchester United manager. Click 'Next' to begin.
10. Luke Shaw
With Patrice Evra looking all set to end his eight-year love affair with United this summer, talk has turned to who we will bring in to replace the soon-to-be-out-of-contract Frenchman. Evra has been a loyal servant to the club and a firm fan-favourite, and we will be sad to see him go, but the time is right to move on and a reshuffle of the back four is well in order. One of van Gaal's first orders of protocol will be to bring in a new left-back and Luke Shaw of Southampton would appear to be that man, if you believe today's talk in the Telegraph. Jeremy Wilson says we're lining up a £27 million bid for the 18-year-old defender, and that he will become van Gaal's first summer signing at the club. Perhaps tellingly, United have been silent on the matter - as we were just before David Moyes got sacked - though you can read into that as you wish. One problem with Shaw however is the price tag - the most expensive full-back in football is Dani Alves, and it remains to be seen if we're prepared to pay the big bucks on someone who is comparatively inexperienced.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
