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Man City Build-Up Tactics & Man United Recruitment Analysis: Šeško Or Mateta?
Today, we have a recruitment analysis article on Manchester United's striker hunt and a tactical analysis of Man City's build-up with Pep Guardiola & Pep Lijnders.
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Today’s TFA Posts ⚽
Following a thoroughly disappointing 2024/2025 season, wherein they finished 15th in the Premier League and lost the UEFA Europa League Final to Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United need to undergo a significant squad upheaval for the upcoming season.
With the Manchester United transfer of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo finalised, Ruben Amorim‘s next target is recruitment in the striker position.
Although talented, Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee have not been able to assert themselves in the role demanded by the Portuguese manager.
Owing to their lack of consistency, the Red Devils are in the market for an upgrade.
RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Šeško and Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta are two contenders for the position.
But who best fits Ruben Amorim tactics for the 2025/2026 Premier League season?
We will find out in this scout report and player analysis, where we examine Benjamin Šeško and Jean-Philippe Mateta playing styles and compare them with those of Man United strikers Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Højlund.
After a season that fell short of their usual dominance, Manchester City approached the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup with a refreshed outlook — both on the pitch and in the coaching setup.
The club reinforced their squad with several additions, most notably Rayan Cherki from Olympique Lyonnais, Rayan Aït-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan.
Off the pitch, City also made a significant coaching addition by appointing Pepijn Lijnders as Pep Guardiola’s assistant.
While the Dutch coach’s impact may take longer to materialise, given the brief lead-up to the competition, it is worth examining this latest version of Man City.
In this analysis, we break down Manchester City’s in-possession strategies during the Club World Cup, focusing on matches against Wydad, Juventus, and Al Hilal — all of which defended with a back five — to offer insights beyond the final results.
We’ve structured the analysis into three pieces to provide a comprehensive view: build-up, progression, and the final third.
This enables us to examine how Manchester City’s approach evolved across the various phases.
This piece starts with the build-up phase and examines how Manchester City approached each game.
What are the core principles they maintained?
What tactical adaptations did they introduce, given that although every opponent defended with a back five, each team applied its strategy and nuances to counter Manchester City’s build-up?
TFA Archives 📆
Morgan Gibbs-White has signed new deal at Nottingham Forest until June 2028.
Dive back to his 2018/2019 Scout Report At Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Will he get a move in the near future?
Arsenal remain in contact with Eberechi Eze’s camp since June as the player is keen on the move.
Check out his Queens Park Rangers 2019/2020 scout report to see what he could bring to a UCL level club.
Adam Aznou will start his medical at Everton on Sunday and then complete all formal steps of €12m package move.
Check out his scout report last season to see how talented he is and what he will bring to Everton.
