It wasn’t supposed to be like this for Manchester United.
In Erik ten Hag’s first campaign at the helm the former Ajax manager steered United to a third-place finish as well as ending the club’s trophy hoodoo. However, it has all started to unravel this term with seven defeats already in all competitions.
United were put to the sword by their treble-winning neighbours Manchester City on Sunday afternoon in a game that flagged the huge gulf between the two sides. One or two victories might help lift the mood but there is still plenty to concern United supporters on and off the pitch right now.
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Next up for Ten Hag and his misfiring team is a Carabao Cup fourth round meeting with Newcastle on Wednesday night. Here are six players who most have something to prove before that showdown and beyond.
Casemiro
An absolute rock for United after signing for £60million from Real Madrid last summer. It probably says everything that Casemiro’s biggest contribution to date this season has been as an unlikely but welcome source for goals. He remains the club’s top-scorer on four strikes in all competitions. Defensively the Brazilian powerhouse has looked slow, sluggish and a far-cry from the player we saw last term.
Sofyan Amrabat
Brought in to help fix long-standing problems in the engine room, Amrabat was deployed as an auxiliary left-back initially with Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Sergio Reguilon injured. That decision didn’t pay off and won’t have helped the World Cup hero for Morocco settle. He has been hauled off at half-time during his last two appearances while standing in for Casemiro as the primary midfield anchor.
Bruno Fernandes
Nobody can deny his quality, but Fernandes is not firing on all cylinders for United at the moment. Far from it. The playmaker is often the go-to man when United need some inspiration, but those type of performances have been few and far between this campaign, while there are growing question marks over him as captain after being handed the armband this summer. Roy Keane is less than impressed.
Erik ten Hag (right) speaks with Manchester United players Amrabat and Mount. (Image: Allstar via Getty Images)
Mason Mount
International teammates such as Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and James Maddison have been a shining light for their new clubs after their high-profile transfers this summer and so much was expected from Mount following his £60million switch. It hasn’t worked out just yet for the ex-Chelsea player who isn’t even a fixture in the XI just now.
Antony
Another man with a big price tag to justify. If the Brazilian trickster was afforded last season as a settling in period, then he really had to make his mark this campaign and it simply not happened. Antony has yet to score or assist from nine outings in all competitions. He was dropped for their derby defeat and United could be forgiven for losing patience in the former Ajax forward.
Marcus Rashford
He plundered 30 goals for United last season in what was a career-best return. However, there has been a drastic downturn for the England international since then and it remains difficult to pinpoint why he has been so poor this campaign. Rashford is by no means alone in that sense but United need desperately need him to recapture the goal-den touch.
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