The Red Devils have little hope of re-establishing themselves among Europe’s elite until they clear out the remaining deadwood in the dressing room

In the aftermath of a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool in April 2022 that left Manchester United sixth in the Premier League table, Ralf Rangnick mapped out a clear path forward – having spent the best part of six months getting to know the players and inner-workings of the club.

“If you analyse the situation, it’s not that difficult to analyse,” said United’s former interim manager. “The team needs a rebuild. For me it’s clear there will be six, seven, eight, maybe 10 new players. And before you sign those players, you need to be aware how do you want to play? What kind of football does the new manager want to play? And then take it from there and then bring every single player fitting into that kind of profile.”

Rangnick would later add: “For me, it’s clear it’s not enough to do some little, minor amendments, some little issues here and there, some minor cosmetic things. No, in medicine you would see this is an operation at the open heart, so there are more things to be changed than some little things here and some minor things there, and this is the good thing.”

Fast-forward 20 months, and United find themselves in arguably an even worse position. Erik ten Hag delivered the Carabao Cup and Champions League qualification in his debut season at the helm, but all that work has been undone in the first-half of the 2023-24 campaign.

United slipped to their sixth defeat in 14 Premier League games at Newcastle on Saturday, and the harsh truth is, the 1-0 scoreline flattered them. What was more alarming, though, is the fact that eight of the players in Ten Hag’s starting XI also played regularly under Rangnick.

The Dutch head coach has followed his predecessor’s blueprint to an extent, signing 16 new players, but very few of them have been successful, and they’ve done little to help United carve out a new, clear footballing identity. He’s also held onto a number of misfits who have long outstayed their welcome at Old Trafford.

These players are holding United back, and do not deserve to pull on the famous red shirt anymore. All of them have been given countless chances to silence their critics, or justify their hefty price tags, only to continuously let the club, the supporters, and indeed themselves down.

Such is the sheer incompetence of those pulling the strings behind the scenes at United, there is a very good chance that none of them will be offloaded in the January transfer window. For all of Ten Hag’s shortcomings, which have been laid bare in recent months, it is his failure to cut loose the stragglers that will eventually lead to him suffering the same fate as the rest of the United managers in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

 ImagesMarcus Rashford

Rashford’s inclusion on this list may seem harsh to some. After all, this is the same man who hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career to win the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award in 2022-23.

The England international only managed five goals in the previous season, but Ten Hag stuck with the misfiring forward, and seemingly worked out how to bring the very best out of him after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo last November. United achieved their aims because of Rashford’s impressive output in the final third, there’s no doubt about that.

But that doesn’t excuse him for taking his foot of the gas this term. This is Rashford’s ninth year in the senior squad at Old Trafford, and he looks in worse shape than ever before, physically and mentally.

Rashford has only found the net twice in 18 appearances, and can count himself extremely luck to still be in Ten Hag’s line-up. He hit a new low against Newcastle as he was subbed on the hour mark after shirking his defensive duties and barely getting a touch of the ball in attack.

It was a truly embarrassing performance from a man who became United’s highest earner on a reported £375,000 per-week salary after being handed a new five-year deal in the summer. Even club legend Roy Keane was left scratching his head, as he told Sky Sports: “He’s a local lad, he’s got the mega-deal and that is all well and good. I need more – you run forward but you have to run back. Cover yards. He’s 26 now, he’s not a child anymore. He’s got to set the example.”

It’s no exaggeration to say that United might as well be playing with 10 men when Rashford is on the pitch. He didn’t really track back last season either, but he was untouchable because of his prolific strike rate.

Now, there is no hiding place for Rashford, and his petulant reaction to being substituted at St James’ Park spoke volumes over his character. Ten Hag certainly shouldn’t be relying on him to spearhead another United revival, and the club really should have jumped at the chance to sell him when Paris Saint-Germain expressed firm interest last year.

Victor Lindelof

United paid £31 million ($40m) to sign Lindelof from Benfica in the summer of 2017, with then-manager Jose Mourinho describing the Swede as a “very talented young player, who has a great future ahead of him”.

However, it quickly became apparent that he was not the answer to United’s defensive woes. Lindelof was a fixture at the back in his first few seasons at Old Trafford, but gradually fell down the pecking order as his limitations became more and more difficult to ignore.

Lindelof is one of the few strong communicators in the current Red Devils squad, and he’s a solid passer of the ball, but he tends to be an easy touch for opposition attackers. He’s not aggressive enough in one-on-one duels and often get’s beaten in the air, while a lack of pace and agility costs him dearly when trying to track runners.

The 29-year-old was labelled “soft and weak” by former United midfielder Paul Scholes after Ten Hag’s side slipped to a damaging 3-2 home degeat against Galatasaray in the Champions League on October 3 – and it was a more than fair assessment.

It’s quite staggering that Lindelof has been able to spend so long in the first-team squad given his physical vulnerability. He’s seen more minutes this term due to injuries, which goes some way to explaining United’s poor defensive record.

It has been reported that United will trigger their one-year extension option on Lindelof, whose current deal is due to expire next summer. That decision alone tells you everything you need to know about how the club is being run at the moment.

Anthony Martial

Martial was handed only his fourth Premier League start of the season at Newcastle, having seen his role reduced following the arrival of £72m ($91m) frontman Rasmus Hojlund. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t make the most of the opportunity, failing to register a single shot, dribble or ball recovery in his 61 minutes on the pitch.

“We forgive Martial the fact he scores a goal every 14 years, I forgive a player for that,” former United captain Keane said to Sky Sports after the game. “But let me tell you, when we’re at Newcastle under pressure, we get that ball into you, you better get hold of that ball to get us up the pitch and a bit of breathing space. He’s touching balls off and gives the ball away cheaply. You may as well go down the leagues.”

You have to go back to January 27, 2021, for the last time Martial completed a full 90-minute game. The Frenchman suffered a knee ligament injury a short while later, and hasn’t been able to regain any kind of rhythm since.

It’s a sad state of affairs for a player who promised so much after his initial arrival from Monaco in 2015. Martial’s debut goal against Liverpool earned him a permanent place in United folklore, but he’s never been able to top that moment.

Across his nine seasons in Manchester, the enigmatic forward has only hit double figures for Premier League goals three times, and it’s now clear that his body cannot hold up to the rigorous demands of football at the very highest level. Martial couldn’t even get back on track after being granted a short loan deal at Sevilla, who did not make any attempt to sign him outright in the summer.

Incredibly, Martial will be eligible for a testimonial match if he stays at United for another 18 months. His contract expires in just seven, though, and it would be a travesty if the club does not finally write off its initial £58m ($74m) investment in the 27-year-old.

Diogo Dalot

Dalot is the second Mourinho signing on this list, and just like Lindelof, he received glowing praise from the Portuguese tactician after his unveiling at Old Trafford in June 2018. “In his age group, he is the best full-back in Europe,” said Mourinho. “He is an extremely talented young defender with all the qualities to quickly become a great player for this club.”

Suffice to say, the 24-year-old has not lived up to that billing. Dalot only made 16 Premier League appearances in his first year at United and was loaned out to AC Milan for the duration of the 2020-21 season.

He impressed enough at San Siro to earn a second chance with the Red Devils, and has had his moments since then, notably snatching the first-choice right-back role from Aaron Wan-Bissaka last season and starting in the Carabao Cup final win against Newcastle.

But once again, United rushed into rewarding an inconsistent player a contract extension. Dalot committed to fresh terms through to 2028 in May, and almost immediately, started to regress.

Wan-Bissaka is now pushing hard to win his place back ahead of Dalot, who is quite frankly, a liability defensively. The Portuguese gets dribbled past far too easily and loses the ball cheaply in dangerous positions, either by playing loose passes or running into trouble.

Dalot also lacks positional sense, and United look far more solid when Wan-Bissaka is starting ahead of him. Yes, the former Porto man offers more going forward, as evidenced by his wondergoal against Sheffield United in October, but he has become a target for opposition wingers.

He’s had to fill in at left-back at times this season as Ten Hag has been forced to improvise with other key defenders sidelined, including against Newcastle. Kieran Trippier ripped Dalot to shreds at St James’ Park, with the full-back once again unable to raise his level in a game against one of United’s main rivals.

It may be difficult for United to find a buyer for Dalot now given how long he has left on his contract, but they could at least recoup the £19m ($24m) they initially forked out for him. He wouldn’t get into the starting XI at any other top-six Premier League club, and United need to start upping their standards in all areas of the pitch.

Harry Maguire

Maguire is currently enjoying a resurgence at Old Trafford, which seemed unthinkable when he was stripped of the captaincy by Ten Hag in July. The following month, West Ham reportedly agreed a £30m ($38m) deal for the England international, who lost his place in the United team after Lisandro Martinez’s move to Old Trafford from Ajax.

But no one was going to force Maguire out. The towering centre-half became the world’s most expensive defender when he joined United from Leicester City for £80m ($101m) in 2019, and has always bought into his own hype.

He survived the summer transfer window, and has since regained favour under Ten Hag. The early season injury crisis at the back helped Maguire, along with Raphael Varane’s rapid decline, but he deserves credit for knuckling down and getting back to his best level.

The problem is, that level still isn’t really good enough for a first-choice United centre-back. Maguire has not suddenly transformed into a world-class defender and the flaws in his game that were there last season have not gone away.

He is just the best option Ten Hag has at his disposal right now. Perspective is needed when assessing Maguire’s return to prominence, because his presence hasn’t done much to lift United as a collective.

The 30-year-old invites pressure with his ponderous style on the ball, and he’s equally slow without it, which allows opposing teams to get in behind United at will. He’s also extremely vulnerable to attackers cutting across him because of how awkward and uncomfortable he is defending on his left side.

Maguire tends to leave huge gaps behind him when rushing towards the ball, too, and the best teams are able to exploit his weaknesses. Had United pushed through the £30m ($38m) sale, they might well have been able to use that money to sign a more well-rounded defender capable of adding greater balance to Ten Hag’s side.

Alas, Maguire remains under contract until 2025, and talk of an extension will probably arise if he continues to paper over the cracks of his overall quality with his workmanlike performances. United were not genuine trophy contenders the last time Maguire was one of the first names on the teamsheet, and there is no reason to think his presence will have a transformative effect this time around – but Old Trafford is now a place where mediocrity is accepted rather than stamped out.

Donny van de Beek

It’s difficult to single out just one player as the worst signing of the past decade for United, but few have a stronger case for that unwanted title than Van de Beek. Even the initial announcement of his £35m ($44m) switch from Ajax in September 2020 was met with widespread confusion.

United never needed Van de Beek, and he’s never offered any evidence to the contrary. The Netherlands international has only started three Premier League games for the Red Devils in the last three years, and has just two goals and two assists to his name from 62 appearances in all competitions.

Only two of those outings have come in the current campaign, as he currently sits behind Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, Scott McTominay, Mason Mount, Sofyan Amrabat and 19-year-old academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo in the midfield hierarchy.

Ten Hag has hinted that Van de Beek could be allowed to leave in January, as he told reporters last week: “I can see he has to play for his career and for everything.” Galatasaray has been mooted as a potential landing spot for Van de Beek, but he doesn’t appear to have many other options.

Reaching an agreement on a final fee could also be problematic, with Real Sociedad having pulled out of a summer deal for the Dutchman at the last minute. United don’t really have much negotiating power because Van de Beek’s stock has hit rock bottom.

They should really have invited offers after his disastrous maiden season, back when he was at least still in top physical condition. Van de Beek has since battled with serious injuries, and couldn’t even get in the Everton team when he moved to Goodison Park on loan in the second half of the 2022-23 season.

At 26, Van de Beek has already wasted the best years of his career, and it remains to be seen whether he will ever get back to the heights of his final two seasons at Ajax. But much of the blame must fall on United, who sold him a dream that was impossible to achieve.