With the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo and David de Gea, all the Manchester United players had a season to forget last time around.
Three managers were in charge of the club for varying lengths of time and failed to make it count as the club ended up finishing a disappointing sixth.
A lot of unwanted records were broken along the way with interim manager Ralf Rangnick suggesting that the club needed as many as 10 players if they wanted to be competitive again.
Erik ten Hag’s reign has so far seen six new players join the club and United had lost their opening two before embarking on a four-match winning run in the Premier League.
And one of the biggest success stories of the season so far has been the re-emergence of Marcus Rashford as a force to be reckoned with.
Rashford is ETH’s striker
He has been played as the striker in the last four games and the Mancunian has chipped in with three goals and two assists already as compared to five goals and two assists in the whole of last season.
And The Sun have now sensationally claimed that Ten Hag is a huge fan of the all-new Rashford and that “Manchester United’s players think the team are better off with Rashford playing up front — and Cristiano Ronaldo benched.”
The Dutch manager believes the 24-year-old has what it takes to make the striker’s position his own and can go on to become one of the world’s best.
Such is their relationship at the moment that the United boss has even admitted to helping the academy graduate to make his comeback into the national team.
“The manager wants Marcus to be United’s No 1 striker and lead the line up front. He believes Marcus has the ability to become one of the world’s best and wants him to express himself in matches.
Source: “Erik ten Hag is always telling him [Rashford] to use his pace and skills when he gets a chance. He told Marcus he will easily score 20 this season. They have a great relationship and Marcus is really happy.” #MUFC pic.twitter.com/KFRu1GyDaq
— United Zone (@ManUnitedZone_) September 10, 2022
“He is always telling him to use his pace and skills when he gets a chance. He told Marcus he will easily score 20 this season. They have a great relationship and Marcus is really happy,” the article mentioned.
Ronaldo conundrum
With regards to the Ronaldo conundrum, most players feel the pressure when playing alongside him as he keeps demanding the ball and the others feel like they are just side-shows to the main attraction.
And the Portuguese has not exactly covered himself in glory by missing pre-season. According to his teammates, his style does not fit in with what the new manager expects from the squad.
“With Ronaldo on the pitch, the team feel pressured. All the players loved it when Ronaldo came back but they’re frustrated he missed pre-season.
“Ronaldo’s not up to speed and relies on instinct — but that doesn’t work in Ten Hag’s system.”
United’s current No 7 has started only two games, both of which ended in defeats. He is yet to open his account for the season.
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