One of Man Utd’s new boys is perhaps the most important player in Erik ten Hag’s mind. That’s until he gets his hands on Frenkie De Jong, if he ever does…
Back in April, we ranked the then Manchester United squad on where the individuals stood in Erik ten Hag’s thinking. Now the new manager has seen his players first hand and made some signings (not as many as he would have liked) while waving off those who’ve departed, we’ve reassessed where the players might be in Ten Hag’s mind.
We’ve not included the youngsters on the tour because the likes of Zidane Iqbal and Charlie Savage are all in a similar position of trying to prove themselves worthy of inclusion in the first-team squad. As for the senior lads…
24) Phil Jones (19)
Not even on the pre-season tour so certainly not in Ten Hag’s thinking.
23) Aaron Wan-Bissaka (16)
Still toast, even if United are yet to sign another right-back.
22) Eric Bailly (20)
The inexplicable Ivorian has done well in pre-season, with one run against a half-arsed Liverpool side the highlight. But this is what Bailly does: teases us with some promise before doing something deranged. Ten Hag won’t rely on him, but seeing as he isn’t as keen to leave as perhaps he ought to be, Bailly could stick around to break out in emergencies.
21) Alex Telles (15)
Being left-footed, the Brazilian seems to have had one job in pre-season: pretend to be Lisandro Martinez. Once Ten Hag has no use for Telles’ imitation act, it’s hard to see where the full-back gets regular minutes, especially in the wake of Malacia’s arrival.
20) Hannibal Mejbri (14)
Included in this ranking when other youngsters were not only because he was listed in April’s edition for the simple act of kicking a couple of scousers. But Ten Hag, quite rightly, is looking for a little more and the youngster hasn’t had much opportunity to show it in pre-season.
Ranking Man Utd’s squad on how central they are to Erik ten Hag’s plans – April edition
19) Anthony Elanga (12)
Ralf Rangnick liked him because he did what he was told. Getting into Ten Hag’s good books will be considerably tougher, especially while the likes of Rashford and Sancho are keen to impress rather than ignore.
18) Donny van de Beek (NE)
Ten Hag views Van de Beek as an attacking midfielder and if Eriksen generally plays a little deeper, the ex-Everton loanee could serve as Fernandes’ stand-in. Van de Beek won’t get any favours from his old Ajax…
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