The Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revolution at Manchester United continued as the Red Devil’s stole a dramatic late winner against Southampton on Saturday.

With injuries beginning to pile up after the PSG game, United had been forced into changes against the Saints and Crystal Palace where United were missing all three regular forwards, two of three midfielders as well as Juan Mata who would have normally deputised.

The injuries have shown the extent to which Solskjaer has changed this United team for the better, yet there are still some worrying areas where a lack of depth could prove costly further down the line.

Should the Norwegian get the managers job full-time come the summer he will certainly have a shopping list in mind to bolster his squad as well as thoughts on several players who could be on the way out.

In the first of two in depth articles, I’m going to look at United’s options in Goal and across the back-line. For each position I’ll give my opinions on who should be kept, who should go and who should be brought in either as a new signing or if there are academy players ready to make the step up to the first XI at Old Trafford.

Goalkeeper

Priority number one for any Manchester United manager, not just Solskjaer, should be getting David De Gea to sign a new contract at Old Trafford.

The Spaniards has at times won games for United, such as the recent win over Tottenham, single handed and talks are underway over a new deal.

Playing second fiddle to De Gea is Sergio Romero, the Argentina International proving a very able deputy when brought in for cup games and seems willing to be second choice.

Beyond De Gea and Romero, United still have a huge number of options in goal. The most senior of these is 36-year-old Lee Grant, signed from Stoke to provide cover and allow academy keepers to go out on loan.

Of the youngsters on loan, Dean Henderson has been highly impressive at Sheffield United this season, proving vital to their promotion push in the Championship while Joel Pereira is highly regarded at the club.

So long as De Gea is signed to a new contract, there doesn’t need to be any real change between the posts for next season, although Henderson could make the step up to the Premier League whether as cover at United or on loan once again.

Full-Backs

Full-back is possibly the area where United have some of the biggest decisions to make, with several players looking likely to depart in the summer necessitating at least one new signing, maybe more.

Solskjaer has suggested that Antonio Valencia will not be signing a new deal at United and will leave in the summer, the winger-cum-right-back having spent 10 years at the club.

Valencia had been the first choice Right-Back under Jose Mourinho, but has seen his place usurped by Ashley Young as injuries have stalled the Ecuadorian’s season.

Matteo Darmian also looks like he may be on the way out, rarely featuring in match-day squads having fallen behind Young, Valencia and Diogo Dalot in the pecking order and only coming in as cover when needed.

33-year-old Young has signed a new one-year deal for next season and has been very impressive at Right-Back, scoring the third goal against Palace. Given his nature as a converted winger and that he is approaching the end of his career though,  Young’s spot may well be up for grabs.

One candidate for the spot would be Dalot, but the Portuguese youngster has been used sparingly as he adapts to life in the Premier-League, but at just 19 has the potential to play a far greater role next season.

Signing a Right-Back to at least challenge Young may be a wise move. Ideally, someone like Kieran Trippier would be an ideal candidate as he shares a fondness for getting forward and like Young is an excellent deliverer of the ball, from crosses and dead-ball scenarios.

On the other flank, Luke Shaw has made the Left-Back spot his own. The Englishman has, according to Romelu Lukaku at least, been United’s player of the season and has been United’s most consistent performer across the entire season.

His impressive burst forward to set up the first goal against The Eagles shows what Shaw can bring to United and at just 23-years-old could be the United and England Left-Back for many years.

The issue comes from a lack of depth or cover for Shaw, with Young, Dalot and Darmian all filling in when Shaw has been unavailable or rested, meaning another Left-Back will be needed to come into the squad.

Demetri Mitchell, on loan at Hearts, could fill the role but is untested at Premier League level so the club may feel that signing a new player will be a necessity here but whoever comes in will likely just be cover rather than competition for the hugely impressive Shaw. If a Right-Back does come in this could free up Young to provide cover across both flanks if needed.

Centre-Back

Whilst it was an issue that was at times overplayed under Mourinho, there are still question marks over the quality of some of United’s central defenders.

Victor Lindelof has proving indispensable to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but the identity of his partner remains unknown, with Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly all taking the position at various times.

Smalling would appear to be the current choice but only since returning from injury, during which Jones seemed to have claimed the spot only to get injured himself. Bailly meanwhile has been brought in for important games, such as the PSG tie, but has seemingly been unable to convince.

Injuries have also kept Marcos Rojo out of the picture under Solskjaer and the Argentinian now faces a race against time to prove himself before the summer where he may well be moved on.

Given all of this, United may well move for another defender in the summer and have been routinely linked with players such as Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly or Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar but most interesting is the link with Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld.

The Belgian has a release clause in his contract that comes into effect this summer that is reportedly around the £25 million mark,  a true bargain in the market for a player of his quality and would make an excellent addition to the United back-line.

Solskjaer may also be tempted to give game time to Axel Tuanzebe and Timothy Fosu-Mensah when they return from their loan deals at the end of the season.

Part 2: Midfield and Attack will be coming later this week