HOW MANCHESTER UNITED CAN BECOME THE BEST TRANSITION TEAM IN THE WORLD

André Onana, Mason Mount, Rasmus Højlund,

Marcus Rashford & Bruno Fernandes

"We really looked into the history of Man Utd and we really looked also into the qualities of our players. And then you can say, so what do we want to be? That is, we want to be the best transition team in the world. We want to surprise. We want to play dynamic. We want to play with speed. We want to play aggressive." — Erik ten Hag

Transitions are arguably the most effective and dangerous method of attack in football. They often result in a numerical, positional and dynamic superiority for the attacking team, putting the defenders at a significant disadvantage. As such, transitional opportunities are always highly valued by coaches, but transitions often come at the cost of control. This is because most teams that prioritise transitions tend to defend deep, soak up pressure and look to counter-attack at speed. Pragmatic coaches such as José Mourinho enjoyed plenty of success with this style, often sacrificing control of possession in order to maximise his offensive players' strengths and exploit opposition weaknesses in transition. However, as football has evolved, this approach has become less common amongst the big clubs. Most of the powerhouses of European football value control above all else in order to limit their opponents' offensive potential.

Clubs like Manchester City and Barcelona enjoy large amounts of possession whilst playing much of their football in the opposition half, and they limit opposition counter-attacks through their strong "rest defence". In layman's terms, rest defence refers to the remaining players in the offensive team's shape when attacking, as shown by the below graphic.

Manchester City attacking shape (2022/23)

Manchester City often attack in a 3-2-5 shape, therefore, when the ball is with the front 5, the rest defence is made up of the remaining players in the 3-2 shape who are tasked with preventing transitions. This method of creation is extremely effective provided the conditions are in place to break down low, compact blocks. Pep Guardiola is the master of this, hence the success he's enjoyed with every club he's coached.

This begs the question: if the best teams tend to enjoy large amounts of possession, why does Erik ten Hag want Manchester United to become the best team in the world in transition?

THE RIGHT PROFILES

Firstly, it's important to understand the heritage and ethos of various clubs. Barcelona and Ajax are world-renowned for their history of promoting academy players, playing attractive football and the emergence of Cruyffism in the mainstream consciousness of the sport. Alternatively, Real Madrid is the home of superstars such as Alfredo Di Stéfano and Cristiano Ronaldo — players who were developed by other clubs and elevated into a sphere of immortality by Los Blancos. Manchester United's ethos can be summed up in three words: youth, courage, success. The willingness and ability to utilise talented young players in the first team, play with unbridled belief and fearlessness, and achieve domestic and continental success is the lifeblood of the Red Devils. This legacy was built by the great Matt Busby and mastered by Sir Alex Ferguson. United's success was built upon attacking with speed and energy, ultimately tiring the opposition with this level of intensity and regularly bringing Old Trafford to its feet.

As shown by his quote at the beginning of this piece, Erik ten Hag is keen on respecting the legacies of the great coaches that preceded him and utilising many of the tenets that made United so great for so long. Fortunately, many of the players at his disposal are tailor-made for this style of football.

Whether by design, happenstance or a combination of the two, Manchester United have built a squad with a number of players adept at implementing a transition-based style of football. Players like Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho are elite outlets. United have also been heavily linked with a move for Atalanta forward Rasmus Højlund who would add to this group of high-end outlets. They all possess the pace and explosiveness to exploit space in behind the opposition defence and all three players are excellent decision-makers in transition.

Rasmus Højlund chance vs. S.S. Lazio — source: Serie A

Alejandro Garnacho goal vs. Leeds United — source: Sky Sports Premier League

This level of speed and power gives United an unmatched threat in transition. Garnacho and Højlund are both still somewhat raw, but their physical traits are of the highest level, especially the latter's. Both players are still just 19 and 20 years old respectively, so the potential for improvement is staggering considering the strong foundations on which they can build. Ten Hag's desire to make Manchester United unstoppable in transition goes someway to explaining the reported pursuit of Rasmus Højlund. His physical gifts are arguably only matched by Erling Haaland and he still has his best years ahead of him. This presents an opportunity for the club to develop the young Dane into one of the best centre-forwards in world football.

Behind United's electric forwards, they possess incredible playmakers in Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount. Both are absolute workhorses as well as being fantastic creators in transition.

Mason Mount assist vs. Manchester City — source: BT Sport

For what was almost certainly the most important assist of Mason Mount's career thus far, the former Chelsea star played an inch-perfect through ball to Kai Havertz, who finished calmly to score the goal that handed the Blues their second Champions League title. Mount is a master at pulling into the half-spaces and scything through opposition defences with perfectly weighted passes. His technique is near-flawless and he's often looking for that progressive pass to unlock a defence.

That description of Mason Mount can be levied upon Bruno Fernandes too. The Portuguese Magnifico has been a revelation for United since joining from Sporting CP in January 2020. Not only does he have a tireless engine and commandeering leadership skills, but he's also a world class creator. His numbers speak for themselves with Fernandes registering a remarkable 44 goals and 33 assists for United, although the underlying data suggests he should have even more assists. Last season in particular, he registered 8 assists against an expected assisted goals (xAG) rate of over 16.7 according to Opta. This would've led the Premier League by a comfortable distance, which further enhances United's need and desire for a new centre-forward.

During his time in Manchester, Fernandes has formed a fantastic relationship with Marcus Rashford as the duo complement each other's strengths perfectly.

Marcus Rashford goal vs. Arsenal — source: Sky Sports Premier League

The symbiotic relationship between the two star players has resulted in a number of goals for United over the past few years and that relationship appears to only be strengthening within Erik ten Hag's more defined system and style of play. Although magnificent players in settled possession, they truly thrive in transition when given the opportunity to exploit that chaos.

Based on his skillset, Jadon Sancho should belong is this tier too, but his crisis of confidence has affected his performances. The break he was given by Erik ten Hag has certainly helped to improve his performances, but there always appears to be another level the England international can reach. Technical ability isn't an issue for Sancho — his technical floor is amongst the highest in the squad, but he hasn't shown the dynamism or creativity that once came so naturally to him during his time with Borussia Dortmund. Once he's able to overcome the mental barriers and maximise his physical condition, there's no doubt we'll see the superstar that was emerging in Germany. He could be of use as both an outlet and creator for United, which is the kind of versatility Erik ten Hag yearns for.

Conversely, Christian Eriksen appears to be at the back-end of his time amongst the top players in the Premier League. The Denmark international still possesses unbelievable ball-striking abilities with both feet, but he can't keep up with the intensity of Premier League football as he once could. He often drifts out of games and offers very little defensively for the team. His positive qualities are certainly still of use to Ten Hag, but the acquisition of Mason Mount was crucial in order to allow Eriksen to be a squad option as opposed to a regular starter.

Amad Diallo and Antony possess an impressive balance of pace, dynamism and creativity. They both have the potential to be hybrid creators and outlets in transition, provided they become more decisive in both regards. Antony in particular is prone to slowing down counter-attacks, partly because he’s so aggressively one-footed and almost exclusively plays off the right flank, therefore he has to cut inside regularly when he enters advanced positions. We're yet to see the mercurial Brazilian consistently play in such a way that justifies his €100 million price tag, but he's just 23 years old and has only had a single season in Europe's top league, therefore he has plenty of time to prove he was a worthwhile investment for the Red Devils.

Conversely, a 2022 summer signing who has been an undisputed success for Manchester United is Brazilian captain Casemiro. The former Real Madrid star has proven he didn't simply make the move to Manchester in order to enjoy a vacation in his 30s — he joined the club to restore it to its former glory. Casemiro is an absolutely tireless worker. He runs like a man in his early 20s and never shies away from a challenge. However, he's also remarkably underrated as a passer, as he possesses a spectacular passing range. Notably, he already has plenty of experience and success playing transition-based football as Real Madrid often utilised this to great success throughout their dominance of European football. He adds a level of grit and experience that is absolutely invaluable to this Manchester United squad and his skillset is of great use to Erik ten Hag and the success he's trying to bring back to Old Trafford.

Further back on the pitch, the likes of Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martínez are incredibly press-resistant defenders and progressive in possession, which is crucial to creating transition opportunities. Martínez is especially elite technically, hence why Ten Hag and the recruitment team made a concerted effort to bring the Argentinian to Old Trafford. The technical level at the club was underwhelming and required players of his calibre to raise it significantly.

The introduction of André Onana will revolutionise the team's style of play. The Cameroonian goalkeeper is, simply put, one of the best passers in Europe regardless of position. He has a perfect weight-of-pass and a fearlessness to progress the ball between the lines, often from a very high starting position. This is completely antithetical to the approach used when David de Gea was United's no. 1 as the Spaniard was particularly poor with his feet. Onana's distribution gives United another avenue through which to attack with speed and precision without sacrificing technical security. Perhaps this signing, more than any other, is indicative of Erik ten Hag's desire to have United play football according to his vision without the compromises they had to make last season due to the weak links in the squad.

All of the players I've mentioned present profiles that will be invaluable in United's attempts to become the most dangerous team in the world in transition. However, this shouldn't come at the expense of the team also progressing the ball through the phases with patience and control. The unpredictability and versatility of the players at Erik ten Hag's disposal are indicative of the Dutchman's desire to have a team that's capable of winning in numerous ways. There still remain other ways for the squad to be strengthened, but quality work is being done by the recruitment team at Old Trafford in order to bridge the gap between themselves and the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City.

TRANSITION WITH CONTROL

I hope readers were able to notice that I largely focused on the in-possession qualities of Manchester United's players in transition as opposed to the ball-winning qualities. This is because United often will — and likely want to — dominate possession and, more often than not, will need to create transitions artificially. Sitting back, absorbing pressure and attacking at speed won't always be an option, nor should it. The best teams generally control games with the ball and, as such, Ten Hag will likely want the same for his side. In fact, the Dutch coach has spoken of his desire to control and dominate games, so how will he do so whilst still adhering to United’s ethos of high-speed, attacking football? Well, this is where controlled transitions come into play.

Between 2018 and 2022, Liverpool enjoyed an outstanding period of success rivalled by only the likes of Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. This was largely down to Jürgen Klopp's aggressive gegenpressing tactics and the effectiveness of the players involved in implementing this style. Early on in his Liverpool tenure, Klopp famously said, "no playmaker in the world can be as good as a good counter-pressing situation", suggesting that gegenpressing has the same influence as a top playmaker. This has been proven by the success the German coach has enjoyed during his time at Anfield, winning nearly every major trophy available to him, namely the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.

Liverpool's aggressive counter-pressing approach often led to high turnovers and the opportunity to use excellent creators in Andrew Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino to supply elite outlets in Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah.

Roberto Firmino goal vs. Swansea City — source: LFCTV

Mohamed Salah goal vs. Manchester United — source: Sky Sports Premier League

Both goals are examples of Liverpool winning possession high up the pitch with their aggressive press and counter-attacking at speed. Salah is one of the best transitional outlets of his generation and he's able to use his blistering pace and infallible decision-making to create and finish golden opportunities for the Merseyside club. At the peak of their powers, Liverpool would score this kind of goal on a regular basis, often showing that you needn't defend deep in order to consistently attack in transition. Klopp's side often enjoyed a large share of possession, but still took the opportunity to transition whenever possible. This was a prime example of seeking transitions without losing control.

Another example of transition with control has emerged with Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton & Hove Albion. In September 2022, the Italian tactician replaced Graham Potter as Brighton's head coach following the latter's move to Chelsea. As expected, there was a fair amount of trepidation from the media regarding De Zerbi's experience and suitability for such a role, but those concerns were quickly alleviated as the former Shakhtar Donetsk boss got to work. Despite suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in his opening game in charge of the Seagulls, De Zerbi's tactics quickly began to bear fruit. His team's watershed performance arrived when Brighton hammered Graham Potter's Chelsea 4-1 and set the tone for the successful season to follow.

Under Roberto De Zerbi, Brighton tend to bait the opposition into pressing them, often through a number of square passes between the goalkeeper and centre-backs, before quickly progressing play to exploit the gaps in the opposition's press. This often involves instructing the attacking midfielder and centre-forward to drop deeper in order to draw the opposition centre-backs out of position, subsequently creating space in the channels for the wingers to exploit through incisive runs from their high and wide starting positions.

Kaoru Mitoma chance vs. Liverpool — source: CSport

Brighton enjoyed the 3rd highest average possession statistics in the Premier League during the 2022/23 season, trailing only Manchester City and Liverpool. Evidently, this style of play did not come at the expense of control, which is incredibly important to Roberto De Zerbi and his principles of play. Brighton also held the 2nd highest pass completion percentage behind only Manchester City. This was due in part to how often they would circulate possession in deeper zones, encouraging the opposition to step out and press them, subsequently creating space for their offensive players to exploit. This shows how Brighton are able to dominate games whilst still seeking transition opportunities.

Other coaches have quickly learnt from De Zerbi's tactics and applied them to their own teams; a great example being Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. Guardiola hailed Roberto De Zerbi as "one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years". Eagle-eyed viewers often taken Guardiola's praise with a pinch of salt due to the Spaniard often waxing lyrical about certain teams before going on to demolish them, but this compliment did appear to be particularly genuine. This was made evident by Man City's approach when they hosted Arsenal in what was a key title-deciding game at the Etihad Stadium. During this game, City largely deployed a 4-2-4 shape, encouraging Arsenal to press them and playing over the press whilst using Haaland as more of a target man and Kevin De Bruyne as a shadow striker playing off the Norwegian superstar. This was remarkably effective for Guardiola's side and was a major reason they walked away with a 4-1 victory.

It wouldn't come as a surprise if Erik ten Hag implemented many of De Zerbi's ideas to maximise his players' skillsets whilst still being a possession-based side. We saw evidence of the effectiveness of these ideas when Manchester United hosted Arsenal early in the 2022/23 season.

Antony goal vs. Arsenal — source: Sky Sports Premier League

This goal is a textbook example of inviting a team to press before making incisive passes to play through them and use the transitional strengths of the team. When the opposition is willing to step out and engage the players in deep build-up, this tactic can be highly effective. However, difficulties arise when the opposition simply decide not to press. This was a problem Brighton began to face when opposing teams caught on to their tactics. The most notable example came in the form of Everton's shocking 5-1 victory over the Seagulls at the Amex Stadium. Sean Dyche essentially challenged De Zerbi to break down his compact defence and used turnovers to counter-attack at speed and create high-quality chances. If Erik ten Hag does indeed want to implement some of De Zerbi's tactics, he'll need to ensure he has a strategy to combat low blocks too. Fortunately, Manchester United will have higher quality players and Ten Hag is adept at coaching teams to break down low blocks as he often had to do so with Ajax who were far and away the best side in the Eredivisie under the Dutchman. This versatility will be pivotal to any success United enjoy in the coming years, but the signs are certainly promising.

THE MIND OF ERIK TEN HAG

Manchester United's Erik ten Hag

It's important to remember that, above all else, Erik ten Hag is a student of Cruyffism. In 1984, a 13-year-old Ten Hag even met Johan Cruyff on a Dutch television programme and presented his opinion on how coaches should approach young players. The seeds were planted for the intelligent, resolute manager Ten Hag would become and Johan Cruyff's ideas laid an important foundation for him. As utilised to great success by the likes of Rinus Michels and Johan Cruyff, Ten Hag encourages fluidity and positional rotations amongst his players whilst still occupying the key zones on the pitch. Although he's often seen as a Guardiola disciple, Ten Hag is closer to Klopp than he is to Guardiola in terms of style. This is shown, in part, by his desire to have his teams often press and counter-press aggressively to force high turnovers and transition quickly whilst the opposing defence is disorganised.

Hakim Ziyech goal vs. Tottenham Hotspur — source: BT Sport

The above goal is a wonderful example of a Ten Hag side at the peak of its powers. The aggressive press, quick transitions and fluid movements are exactly what the Dutch coach wants to implement consistently at Old Trafford. He's only had a single season at United so far, so it's not a surprise that his ideas haven't been fully realised by the players yet, but the progress is evident. This is one of the many ways Ten Hag can use his players' phenomenal transitional traits with more regularity and efficiency.

As mentioned prior, transition opportunities can be created from settled possession. It's largely dependant on the willingness of the opponent to press and the spaces that are created by this press. The attacking team can then play at a higher tempo and with more directness in order to exploit these spaces before the defence can reorganise.

Dušan Tadić goal vs. Real Madrid — source: BT Sport

In the above goal, Ajax gain possession and Real Madrid fail to press effectively, allowing the Dutch side to keep the ball. Los Blancos attempt to get back into their normal shape, but Ten Hag's side move the ball at a high tempo, forcing a number of Madrid defenders to step up in order to close down the space, subsequently creating new gaps. It's essential for a possession-based side to be able to slow down or speed up ball movement depending on how the opponent is defending and the specific game state in that moment. This is the next step of Manchester United's evolution under the former Ajax boss, but the signs are certainly promising and there's plenty for the Old Trafford faithful to be excited about.

CONCLUSION

Transition football is often associated with defending deep and attacking the spaces behind the opposition, but it doesn't have to be this way. Transitions are such an effective form of attack that coaches are always looking for ways to utilise them without losing control. Pep Guardiola has acknowledged the unique transitional profiles he has in the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland and how these players allow him to diversify his approach to various games. This can (and should) be the case for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. He's done well to raise the technical floor of his squad, but he still has many direct players in the team. This can be a blessing and a curse if he can't find the right balance, but his track record suggests that he likely will. With the Dutchman's mind, the quality of players available and the historical ethos of Manchester United, there's no reason why they can't become the best transition team in the world.