Former Manchester United striker Michael Owen believes David de Gea and Marcus Rashford are the only players who are producing maximum effort on a consistent basis.
The Red Devils have been underwhelming this season, currently sitting sixth in the Premier League, which resulted in the sacking of Jose Mourinho on Tuesday.
How have De Gea and Rashford played this season? Five things to know…
- Rashford has started just nine Premier League matches this season, but no player has been directly involved in more goals than him (3 goals, 5 assists).
- Paul Ince recently called Rashford a “bit-part player” and suggested he should consider a move away from the club.
- The England international has failed to really kick on in his United career after exploding onto the scene three years.
- De Gea meanwhile has been an ever-present between the sticks but has made a few notable errors this season.
- As such, a Spanish newspaper recently called for De Gea to be dropped as the nation’s No. 1 ‘keeper in favour of Iker Casillas.
United produced another abject performance at the weekend as Liverpool fired three past them, resulting in Mourinho’s sacking on Tuesday morning.
Speaking before news of the Portuguese’s departure, Owen suggested the Red Devils would be producing significantly better performances under the auspices of Jurgen Klopp rather than their former tactician.
In an interview with Optus Sport (via the Metro), Owen said: “I think the bigger question is, player for player, are they [United] better [than Liverpool]? If they were managed by Jurgen Klopp let’s say, would they be a better team? They’d be miles better, 100 per cent.
“You’ve got Alexis Sanchez who has been the best player in the Premier League for three years and I know he’s injured but even when he was playing he’s not a shadow of what he was. ‘[Romelu] Lukaku the same, [Paul] Pogba.
“The only good players that United have got at the moment in terms of playing at their maximum is De Gea and Rashford. Those players were given to him.
“His signings are really disappointing, [Victor] Lindelof, Fred, there’s so many players underperforming. If Klopp or Guardiola was managing this team, they would be a lot better. They’ve got great players, they’re just not playing well.
“They’re much better for their international teams, we’ve seen them performing great for other teams, all of a sudden they arrive at United and they’re not performing at all.
“Yes, you can blame the players, individual mistakes, it’s not the manager kicking the ball out there, however, I think that Man City and Liverpool are a reflection of their managers, the way they want to press, the way they’ve got loads of energy and all these different attributes that they’re very good at.
“This Man United team at the moment just can’t perform and the buck eventually stops with the manager. We all know they can do more. They’re better players than this. I just don’t think anyone’s happy at the club right now.”
Who could replace Mourinho at Man Utd?
Following the dismissal of Mourinho, United’s hierarchy will now begin their comprehensive search for his successor, but who could ideally take the helm?
The club have already announced a caretaker manager will step in for the remainder of the campaign; Kieran McKenna and Michael Carrick are currently taking charge of training sessions, but it is believed a caretaker manager will be appointed in the coming days.
One name tipped to step in is former striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is currently managing Molde in his homeland of Norway, while the likes of Guus Hiddink, Antonio Conte, Laurent Blanc and Zinedine Zidane are all out of work and would therefore be more viable options to take over.
As for a permanent manager, Mauricio Pochettino is the preferred choice in the north-west but Daniel Levy is a stubborn negotiator and will not let the Argentinian go without a fight.
Zidane and Conte would also be seen as long-term managerial options, but it is believed United will wait until the summer to make a final decision on Mourinho’s successor.
The post Only two players are giving their best for Man Utd – Owen appeared first on Squawka News.
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