Dropping £82m signing among bold changes Man United must make after international break

Four games, two defeats away from Old Trafford and not a single good performance to their credit – this has not been the start that Manchester United envisioned as they look to build on last year’s top-four finish. They have looked off the pace and flaky, with evidence for the latter accusation helpfully provided on Sunday as they conceded twice in the space of six minutes during stoppage time to slump to a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal.

There isn’t much about United that looks right at the moment, and while there have been some mitigating circumstances, not least a string of defensive injuries that led to a central defensive pairing of Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire at the Emirates, the undeniable fact is that United lack cohesion and a clear tactical vision. Add a few players who are underperforming individually into the equation, and something needs to be done.

Erik ten Hag doesn’t have much scope to make changes in defence as it stands, with limited depth in the squad and only Spurs loanee Sergio Reguilón and veteran free agent Evans brought in to improve matters. Injuries to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia only compound the problem.

But there is room to make moves in the midfield, and in the composition of the front free, and those have been areas where United are losing matches and squandering opportunities. The midfield, in particular, has been overrun at times – especially when big-money signing Mason Mount has been involved as a number eight, a role he seems unsuited to and uncertain in. The deadline day arrival of Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina should help there, and the Moroccan has the right combination of experience, energy and defensive mettle to shore things up at the centre of the park.

But even a more solid midfield trio will mean little if United can’t fix their attack. For the first three games of the campaign they played Marcus Rashford in the central striker’s role and Alejandro Garnacho and Antony either side of him, not a trident that has proven especially effective.

In the past, we’ve looked into the numbers behind Rashford and noted that he is likely better suited to life on the left wing, where young Garnacho has struggled to make a mark so far this season. That seems like the first thing Ten Hag can put right – put your best attacking player in the position where they can do the most damage, and get an underperforming player out of the starting line-up for now until he can regain his form.

That leaves a vacancy up front, of course, but if Rasmus Højlund is worth a £64m outlay, then he’s worth a run of starts. The Dane came off the bench against Arsenal to make his delayed debut, and deserves a chance to show the world what he can do. His performances last season for Atalanta in Serie A (he scored 10 goals in 34 games) suggest that he isn’t a first-rate striker just yet, but he has unquestionable talent, plenty of willing, and frankly United haven’t got a better option at this moment than giving him a chance to make the number nine slot his own. He should be fully fit after the break, provided Denmark take good care of him.

As for the right wing? Well, that role belongs to Antony as it stands, but the Brazilian has been less than effective so far. His total of 11 goal contributions last season was worrying considering the huge expense put towards acquiring him, and he has picked up where he left off – wayward crosses, limited goal threat, and looking more like to trip over his own feet than beat his man. He has all the stepovers and flashy tricks in the world, but so far he’s been more Nani than Cristiano Ronaldo. And that is probably harsh on Nani.

So a change would do United a world of good then, but the obvious alternative, Jadon Sancho, has now placed himself at the centre of a small storm after clapping back at Ten Hag’s comments on his omission from the game on Sunday.

The Dutch head coach had told the media that Sancho had been left out of the squad because of his “performances in training”, adding that “You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United… so for this game he was not selected”. This seems to have stung Sancho, who took to X (the artist formerly and rightly known as Twitter) to protest.

“Please don’t believe everything you read!”, began the former Borussia Dortmund forward. “I will not allow people saying things that is completely untrue, I have conducted myself in training very well this week. I believe there are other reasons for this matter that I won’t go into, l’ve been a scapegoat for a long time which isn’t fair!”

Whether either party’s comments are fair or not is something only those on the inside can judge, but it’s clear that manager and player need to hash out their problems – or find Sancho a new club. Either way, with the Notes app once again being used to generate a minor social media storm around Old Trafford, we can probably assume that Sancho won’t get the nod until the hatchet can be buried in some way.

So who does that leave? Well, how about Mount? He hasn’t played many games in the wide right slot in his career, but is an expert at running the channels, exploiting half-yards of space around the box, and setting up quick passing moves in dangerous areas. His skillset suits playing in the front three far more than it does playing a water-carrier role in the midfield, not a job he seems to be settling down into.

Mount is likely best suited to playing as a number ten, the position he was primarily used in when he had his best and most productive season for Chelsea, in 2021/22 - but with Bruno Fernandes looking unbudgable in that spot, it makes sense to try something else with the England man, else United have simply spent around £55m on a second-rate number eight. There is no evidence so far, from an admittedly miniscule sample size, that Mount will magically transform into the kind of Jordan Henderson figure that Ten Hag seems to want him to be. Fresh thinking is required.

Mount, who missed the game against Arsenal with injury and has not been called up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the games against Scotland and Ukraine, is expected to be fully fit and fresh again for Manchester United’s next Premier League match, at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on 16 September. Giving him a shot at the wide right role seems like a good way to spark things back into life, and giving Antony and Garnacho a breather and a chance to take stock seems sensible too. As for whether Ten Hag actually tries anything new? Well, come back in a couple of weeks and we’ll find out – but something needs to change, or United will have a very tough time making the top four again this year.