Erik ten Hag has been named as the Premier League's Manager of the Month, joining Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford in gaining recognition for the Red Devils' September exploits.

Rashford was confirmed as the Player of the Month earlier on Friday, and Ten Hag's win made it an Old Trafford double.

A truncated schedule meant United only played twice in the league this month, but they beat both struggling Leicester City and previously undefeated leaders Arsenal.

United are now on a four-match winning run heading into Sunday's derby against Manchester City – Ten Hag's first since being appointed at the start of the season.

This is only the second time a United boss has been named the Manager of the Month since Alex Ferguson left the club in 2013.

The other was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in February 2019, which was also the only other occasion on which Rashford was the Player of the Month.

Marcus Rashford described his delight at working under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United after being named the Premier League's Player of the Month for September.

Forward Rashford scored two goals and assisted two more in United's two league matches this month.

Both games – at Leicester City and at home to leaders Arsenal – ended in victory to extend United's winning run to four in the top flight.

In an interview with MUTV after earning the award for the second time in his career (also January 2019), Rashford deflected praise as he suggested "everyone's chipped in" to aid United's revival.

He also described his "favourite moment" of the month as his assist for Antony against Arsenal, ahead of either of his own two goals that day.

"Antony scoring his first goal on his debut – I think that's a massive moment," Rashford said. "It gives us strength and courage."

And the England international, who was missing from Gareth Southgate's latest squad following injury, believes United as a team are moving "in the right direction" following Ten Hag's appointment as manager at the start of the season.

"It's a fresh start and something to work towards," Rashford added. "For me, it's done me wonders.

"I'm very happy that he's here, and I'm just happy that his desire is to improve everyone and improve the team.

"It's an exciting feeling to be working towards a big end goal. Hopefully we can keep taking steps in the right direction, keep picking up points and keep progressing in tournaments."

A truncated schedule saw United score only four times in September, but Rashford had a hand in each of them and is now looking to perform on a more consistent basis.

"For me, as an individual, it's just about doing that as often as I can, trying to help the team with goals and assists and just my all-round play," he said.

Rashford has three goals and two assists for the season, having only contributed four goals and two assists in the Premier League in the whole of the previous campaign.

The 24-year-old has never previously tallied as many as five goal contributions through his first six appearances of a league season.

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has hit out at the club's recruitment in recent transfer windows, describing it as a "complete mess".

United missed out on Champions League qualification last season despite spending big to attract the likes of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford, and left it late to do their business this year.

Although Casemiro and Antony arrived shortly before the closure of the transfer window, United frustrated fans with a drawn-out, fruitless pursuit of Frenkie de Jong, while they failed to sign a striker amid uncertainty over Ronaldo's future.

While a run of four consecutive wins has got Erik ten Hag's men back on track after they lost their first two games of the Premier League campaign, Scholes believes something must change.

Recalling last year's transfer activity while speaking to Gary Neville for the Overlap, Scholes said: "[In Sancho] you've got a young player you spent a lot of money on who, don't get me wrong, did great in Germany but was unproven in the Premier League.

"Cristiano was proven, of course he was, but he was 36. Varane, I always think, 'why would a club like Real Madrid let Varane go?' 

"If you looked at him last season, he didn't look right. I didn't think it was a great transfer window. 

"It's been a complete mess. It looks like there's nobody in charge of it. Nobody at the club is taking responsibility for it.

"It is [director of football] John Murtough? Is it the manager? I think they need to put someone in charge of recruitment. What will happen eventually is the manager will get blamed for it."

United began the campaign with humiliating defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford before Ten Hag adopted a more pragmatic counter-attacking style, and Scholes believes that approach is necessary given the make-up of their squad.

"I think even with the new manager now, he's stumbled across it," Scholes said."I think the Old Trafford crowd get nervous when the goalkeeper is trying to play it 10 yards to the centre-back.

"When you talk about a club with a philosophy, that's not Manchester United, it's Barcelona, it's Manchester City now, it's Ajax. 

"I don't know if the manager's done it on purpose or just got lucky. After Brentford he realised, 'I don't really have the players to do that'. After the Brentford game, there was a change."

Luke Shaw had no grievances about being dropped by Manchester United in August, even agreeing that Erik ten Hag needed to change something.

Shaw started United's first two Premier League games of the season, defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and then Brentford.

The 4-0 loss to Brentford meant United finished a day bottom of the Premier League table for the first time in 30 years – 1992 was also the last time United had begun a league season with back-to-back defeats.

Shaw and Harry Maguire were the ones to pay the heaviest price. Neither has started any of the four league games since, all of which United won, while the left-back has not played a single minute in those games.

Despite a lack of action, both players featured for England during their two Nations League games in the past week and Shaw is hopeful of playing more regularly for United ahead of the World Cup, even if he accepts being dropped for Tyrell Malacia was not hugely surprising.

Asked by talkSPORT about playing more before Qatar 2022, Shaw said: "That's what everyone wants.

"I think Ten Hag, the boss, he knows my qualities, he knows what I'm capable of and we've had chats.

"It's understandable that – and I even agree – the start of the season wasn't good enough and he had to make changes. And I fully accept that, I accepted it.

"The only thing I can do is train hard and wait for my opportunities, whether that's in the cup games or the Premier League.

"Whatever I play in, I just have to be ready and play at the standard I should be at."

Shaw scored in England's 3-3 draw with Germany on Monday, a result that did little to ease the pressure on manager Gareth Southgate.

England's loss to Italy three days earlier confirmed their relegation from the top tier of the Nations League, but Shaw thinks the criticism of Southgate is unfair given what he has achieved in the job until now.

"You look at the results of the last two major tournaments and it's bizarre how people can attack him and say it's not good enough," Shaw added.

"At the moment we haven't won, we have to win a major tournament to be extremely successful, but we're heading in the right direction and he's guiding us in the right direction.

"From when he first came in, you've seen the difference in the England team to where we are now but of course the results recently haven't been good enough. We'll be ready in the World Cup."

Christian Eriksen's quick emergence as a key player at Manchester United has not surprised former Red Devils midfielder Michael Carrick.

Denmark international Eriksen joined United on a free transfer in pre-season after playing the second half of the 2021-22 campaign with Brentford.

It was initially unclear how United would fit Eriksen into the team given the importance of Bruno Fernandes, but Erik ten Hag's inability to land key transfer target Frenkie de Jong seemingly made the decision for him.

Eriksen has generally featured slightly deeper than Fernandes and the pair's collective creativity has been a real asset for United in midfield.

That was particularly plain to see in the impressive 3-1 win over Arsenal, as Eriksen's passes to Fernandes were crucial in the build-up to two of United's goals.

Of the United players to feature for more than 190 minutes in the league this season, no one has averaged more passes (50.4), successful passes ending in the final third (11.2) or passes into the box (5.6) on a per-90-minute basis than Eriksen, highlighting how quickly he has managed to stamp his personality on their style of play.

"I'm not surprised one bit," Carrick told United's official website.

"I played against him a lot; I've watched him a lot. I like him a lot. He's a fantastic footballer. He's clever, he's smart.

"It almost doesn't matter what position he plays, he can adapt. He's just a clever, intelligent footballer with great quality.

"I was pleased when we signed him, and he's not surprised me one bit. He's a top player."

Eriksen carried his encouraging United form – which earned him their Player of the Month award for September – with him into the international window, impressing for Denmark over the course of their two games.

He scored a stunning long-range effort in the 2-1 defeat to Croatia before producing a wonderful performance in Sunday's 2-0 win over France as he remarkably laid on eight chances for team-mates.

To put that into context, Eriksen has only registered more key passes in a single club match twice (nine both occasions) since joining Tottenham from Ajax in 2013.

Marcus Rashford and Erik ten Hag have been nominated for the Premier League's Player and Manager of the Month awards respectively for September. 

Manchester United's upturn in form continued thanks to two wins from two this month ahead of the international break.

Rashford was directly involved in a league-high four goals in September, assisting Jadon Sancho in the 1-0 win over Leicester City before scoring twice and setting up another in the 3-1 win over Arsenal. 

The 24-year-old faces competition from Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, who assisted three goals and created 10 chances – both league-high tallies – in his side's two fixtures.

Belgium international De Bruyne has now been involved in 150 goals across 217 Premier League appearances, scoring 58 and assisting 92.

Phillip Billing, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Jacob Ramsey, of Bournemouth, Tottenham and Aston Villa respectively, are also in the running for the award, as is Alex Iwobi after impressing in a deeper central-midfield role for Everton.

In the Manager of the Month category, Ten Hag is up against Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte and Bournemouth interim manager Gary O'Neil.

O'Neill steadied the ship by helping Bournemouth go unbeaten in their three games this month, collecting five points in the process on the back of last month's 9-0 loss to Liverpool that led to the departure of Scott Parker.

Like Ten Hag's United, Tottenham took a maximum six points in September to match their best ever start to a Premier League season.

The winners of the awards will be announced next week. 

Bruno Fernandes has commended Erik ten Hag for instilling "a style" and the requisite "discipline" at Manchester United, comparing the Dutchman's early approach to that of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

The former Ajax boss succeeded interim predecessor Ralf Rangnick at the end of the last Premier League campaign and spent the pre-season looking to reshape the Old Trafford club following a dire 2021-22 term.

After something of a tough transfer window, a poor start to the new season saw Ten Hag drop captain Harry Maguire and left-back Luke Shaw – and since then, United have gone unbeaten domestically, lying fifth before the international break.

Reflecting on what Ten Hag has brought to the club over the past few months, Fernandes says he has enforced his plans with great emphasis.

"He has an idea, he has a style," Fernandes told The Athletic. "You have to follow his rules, he is strict on that. I like that.

"He has brought discipline, which is something I think we missed in the past. Everyone must be on the same page.

"That is what Pep and Klopp have been doing for years, because they have stability in the club, and in the way they choose the transfer market and build the team.

"I saw the manager say that we do not want to bring players just for the sake of it, we want to bring the right players for what we want to do.

"It is something the club needs. We still have a margin to improve, and he needs time to get the most out of us. I believe we will get to the point with him where are established as a team and everyone is on the same page."

Erik ten Hag is confident Cristiano Ronaldo will score more goals after the forward opened his account for the season to help Manchester United shoot down Sheriff in the Europa League.

Ronaldo had not started any of United's previous four Premier League matches and failed to impress in a home defeat to Real Sociedad last time out.

However, having started Thursday's game, Ronaldo was on target from the penalty spot as United got three points on the board in Group E.

It was the 699th club goal of Ronaldo's career, albeit his first in the Europa League, with Sheriff the 124th different side the 37-year-old has scored against, and Ten Hag is expecting plenty more to follow this season.

"He needed that goal," Ten Hag told United's club media. "He was close many times, but you always see he wanted that so much. We're happy for him, and the team wanted him to bring that goal. 

"We could expect this when you miss pre-season, he has to work really hard and invest to get the right fitness. He will score more goals. He's really close; when he gets more fitness, he will score more."

The United boss was also impressed by the performance of Jadon Sancho, who opened the scoring after 17 minutes when he turned on Christian Eriksen's pass and tucked a neat finish into the bottom-right corner.

Sancho, who was left out of Gareth Southgate's England squad earlier in the day, has now scored three goals in his last six appearances for United, as many as in his previous 24 games combined.

"I'm really pleased with [Sancho]," Ten Hag said. "[He scored] another goal, and he also scored many goals in pre-season.

"He's doing well, but I think there's much room for improvement for him because he has so many skills. So, bring it on the pitch and when he has that belief, I think he can be even more productive."

Meanwhile, Sancho underlined his determination to earn an England recall for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

"It was really important that we got the win today," the winger told reporters. "Our last home against Real Sociedad was an upset and coming into this game, we knew we had to get the three points.

"Obviously, it is disappointing not to get the call-up, but I have to keep working hard and hopefully, I do get the call-up for the World Cup. I just have to focus on myself and carry on working hard."

United have won five of their last six games in all competitions, as many victories as they had registered in their previous 21 matches combined.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal of the season as Manchester United got their Europa League campaign up and running with a 2-0 win at Sheriff on Thursday.

Ronaldo, selected to lead the line as Erik ten Hag kept rotation to a minimum against the side that stunned Real Madrid in last season's Champions League, drilled home a first-half penalty to make it 2-0 to United, after Jadon Sancho had opened the scoring.

Having moved onto 699 club goals with his spot-kick, Ronaldo missed a chance to reach the 700 milestone after the break, but United produced a controlled performance to see out the victory.

United were in need of three points following last week's home defeat to Real Sociedad in their opening Group E game.

Although Sheriff started well, United took the lead with their first real attack 17 minutes in when Sancho turned on Christian Eriksen's pass and tucked a neat finish into the bottom-right corner.

Iyayi Atiemwen dragged wide of the bottom-left corner with David de Gea unsighted, before Stjepan Radeljic denied Sancho a second with a heroic goal-line clearance.

United were soon gifted an opportunity to double their lead by Patrick Kpozo, who was tempted into a foul by Diogo Dalot.

Ronaldo, who has had to settle for a substitute role in United's last four Premier League matches, lashed his penalty straight down the middle.

Radeljic was again on hand to clear as Ronaldo attacked the back post after the break, before Rasheed Akanbi almost caught De Gea out with a sumptuous lob from long range.

Ronaldo side-footed wide of the top-right corner from 18 yards out as a chance for his 700th club goal went begging, though United had little trouble in sealing a fifth win in their last six outings.

Erik ten Hag has backed Marcus Rashford to earn an England recall after confirming the injury that has ruled the forward out of Thursday's game with Sheriff is not serious.

Rashford is not part of Manchester United's squad for the Europa League tie in Moldova, with Anthony Martial, Donny van de Beek and Aaron Wan-Bissaka also absent.

The 24-year-old has impressed this campaign with three goals and two assists in six matches, compared to five and two respectively in 32 outings in all competitions last season.

That upturn in form was expected to lead to a call-up to the England squad for the first time since Euro 2020 when Gareth Southgate names his squad on Thursday.

Rashford's hopes of a recall appeared to be damaged by a minor injury sustained against Arsenal, but Ten Hag does not expect him the miss any serious length of time.

"He has a muscle injury. I can't tell how long he'll be out, but I don't think it will be too long," Ten Hag said at a pre-match press conference on Wednesday ahead of facing Sheriff.

"It's not really bad and we expect him back quite soon."

Asked if Rashford has done enough to earn a place in the England squad for Nations League games against Italy and Germany, Ten Hag said: "It's quite clear, yes.

"He has shown his great potential and quality this season."

United have otherwise named a strong squad for the Group E tie as they aim to respond to last week's 1-0 loss at home to Real Sociedad in their opening match.

It will be United's first competitive meeting with Moldovan champions Sheriff, who are unbeaten in eight matches and beat Omonia Nicosia 3-0 last week.

Ten Hag, who has lost only two of his 20 away matches in major European competitions as a manager, is eager to get back on track after last week's setback against Sociedad.

"There is pressure on in every game – we have to win every game we play," the Dutchman said. "When you lose the first game, you have to win the second.

"We know what our task is. We always play a strong side and tomorrow that will also be the case.

"Sheriff have shown they are capable by beating Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk in the past. They are a serious opponent and we have to be at our best for the win."

With Rashford and Martial not available, Cristiano Ronaldo is set to start for only the third time this season in all competitions.

However, asked to confirm if that will be the case, Ten Hag said: "I'm sorry, but the Moldova fans have to wait until tomorrow."

Christian Eriksen is confident Manchester United are on a "good road" and praised the qualities of his fellow Red Devils midfielders. 

Although United lost to Real Sociedad in the Europa League last time out, their Premier League fortunes have seen a vast improvement since Erik ten Hag lost his first two games in charge last month.

A 3-1 home win over Arsenal last Sunday made it four successive league victories for United – their best winning run since April 2021.

Eriksen created a team-high three chances and recorded 33 successful passes (also a team-high) against the Gunners, as well as teeing up Marcus Rashford's second goal.

Only Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes (both 10) have created more Premier League chances than Eriksen for United this campaign (eight). Meanwhile, Fernandes (539) is the only Red Devils midfielder to rack up more Premier League minutes than Eriksen's 532 under Ten Hag.

Speaking to the club's website, Eriksen said United's midfielders were adapting well to the new boss's methods. 

"Everyone has different qualities and it's up to the manager who he's going to put down to play in which games and see what qualities will work," Eriksen said.

"Take Casemiro coming in and showing how strong he is already, being a winner. And Fred and Donny [van de Beek] have played for many years – it's a decent midfield.

"Scott [McTominay] has done very well and I think you can see that from the games. I think in the first few games, we were looking for each other a bit and seeing where we are. 

"But now I think we are starting to get a good connection and a good feeling of where you should be, and also because of the instructions of the manager, as he has the positions he would like us to be in. 

"I think it's gone well, but also when you win games it's just easier to look back and the confidence builds up and you forget the small mistakes you make and remember the good things. 

"There are a lot of things we can improve, but it's a good road we're on."

Last season's 6th-placed Premier League finish means United are competing in the Europa League this campaign, but Eriksen believes the strength of their squad – and the allowance of five substitutions – leaves them well-equipped to cope.

"[The whole squad] is going to be very important," he added. "I think this is a good year to have five substitutions.

"It will help the pressure on a lot of the players, and also I think it will give the manager a few more options. 

"The guys who have come on have done very well – they want to prove themselves. And also the guys that have been starting want to prove themselves. 

"So it's a good and strong push that I think we need, because we have a lot of games and there is a lot of quality in the team. We all have to fight for our places."

Following the Premier League's decision to postpone its weekend fixture programme after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, United are back in action on Thursday, travelling to Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League.

Manchester United don't want to be in the Europa League, though they have become a little more familiar with UEFA's second-tier competition in recent years.

Nevertheless, this is the first time since the 2019-20 season that they've entered the Europa League in the group stage and there were positives to take from that campaign.

Those positives generally revolved around United being able to give young players the chance to impress.

Tahith Chong, Axel Tuanzebe, Angel Gomes, Brandon Williams, James Garner, Largie Ramazani, Ethan Galbraith, D'Mani Mellor, Dylan Levitt, Ethan Laird and Di'Shon Bernard all got opportunities to play in that group stage, with many of them making their debuts.

Granted, a scan of that list doesn't show many players who've gone on to become regulars at United – a few remain at the club but are either down the pecking order or unlikely to have long-term futures, while Garner recently joined Everton and Gomes and Ramazani are impressing elsewhere in Europe.

United allowed a lot of players to leave the club on permanent deals and loans in the most recent transfer window, so there is every reason to expect any youngsters given chances in the group may not be familiar faces.

Ahead of Thursday's group opener against Real Sociedad, Stats Perform takes a look at the young talents who might emerge for United over the next few months.

On the fringes

United fans will hope the Europa League final provides them with an opportunity to see Facundo Pellistri in action. The Uruguayan winger joined the club nearly two years ago but hasn't played a single minute of competitive action, and neither of his loan spells at Deportivo Alaves were particularly impressive.

He caught the eye in pre-season last year but was still shipped out – he made a couple of appearances this time around before suffering an injury, which also ended any plans for another loan spell.

But if there's any South American winger likely to stake his claim for more first-team minutes, it's Alejandro Garnacho. The 18-year-old has already played for the senior side, including once this term, and has been a regular among the substitutes for Erik ten Hag.

An explosive, direct winger, Garnacho appears to be one of the most talented players to come through at United in recent years.

Such statements had been reserved for Shola Shoretire until fairly recently. The gifted – albeit diminutive – forward became United's youngest ever player in European competition (17 years, 23 days) when appearing against Thursday's opposition in February 2021, so he still has time on his side, but he hasn't really kicked on since in terms of collecting first-team minutes.

Having said that, United reportedly shelved plans for him to go on loan just before the transfer window closed, with Ten Hag apparently keen to keep him around until January – perhaps an opportunity or two is around the corner?

Out to make a name

It's fair to say United have a lot of promising talent coming through at the moment. Among those yet to play for the senior side, Kobbie Mainoo looks the biggest prospect of them all.

Only 17, Mainoo is an elegant playmaker who possesses exceptional technical attributes – he ran the show as United's Under-21s beat Carlisle United's first-team 2-1 in the EFL Trophy last week and has been training with Ten Hag's main squad ahead of Thursday's match.

Mainoo's by no means the only midfielder exciting people at Old Trafford, though. Isak Hansen-Aaroen courted attention in pre-season when a pre-match photo showing his impressive tattoo collection went viral on social media – at the time he was 17, though there is no 18-plus restriction on body art in his native Norway.

Unbeknownst to many of those sharing the photo, Hansen-Aaroen is an extremely gifted and versatile player capable of featuring in midfield and attack. He's quick, a wonderful dribbler, creative and difficult to knock off the ball. He's clearly already got Ten Hag's attention as he featured briefly against Rayo Vallecano in pre-season – a competitive debut certainly isn't out of the question this season.

Former Manchester City youngster Charlie McNeill is another who has been training with the seniors this week. Something of a goal machine at youth level, the 18-year-old is a well-rounded striker who works hard and possesses strong associative attributes. Given Anthony Martial's continued absence, McNeill could be an understudy to Cristiano Ronaldo in Europe over the next few weeks.

Charlie Savage, son of former Wales international Robbie Savage, made his first-team debut under Ralf Rangnick last season – as did Zidane Iqbal. The two midfielders both have plenty of potential, with the former possessing some of the bite his dad was renowned for, and each will be hopeful of kicking on after a brief introduction to senior football in 2021-22.

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are in "control" when it comes to Marcus Rashford's future, adding that the forward is "happier" with his place at the club.

The England international was linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain over the off-season following a difficult 2021-22 campaign, where he scored just five times in 32 games across all competitions.

But with three goals and two assists in the first six games of the new Premier League season, the 24-year-old looks to have rediscovered both the best of his abilities and his satisfaction with life at Old Trafford.

Rashford's United contract expires at the end of the current campaign, but with United set to start their Europa League campaign against Real Sociedad this week, manager Ten Hag says the club have his future in hand, given they have the option to extend his contract by a year.

"Definitely," the Dutchman stated when asked if the forward was in his long-term plans. "I don't think he is out of contract - I think United control the situation.

"It's difficult for me to talk about the past. What I see is a happy Marcus Rashford. We worked really hard the last two months with him on different aspects. He likes it, he wants to transfer it to the pitch.

"He comes in every day, he enjoys it, he's smiling, [he has] a really positive vibe. If you put all of those things together and you are happy, you will contribute more to the team."

Rashford's role as a centre-forward has kept Cristiano Ronaldo out of the starting line-up the past four games for United, with the Portuguese star benched alongside captain Harry Maguire.

Quizzed on whether a return could be on the cards for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Ten Hag acknowledged the veteran forward is fit to feature from the off, while discussing plans to rotate his squad for their European schedule.

"He started against Brentford, then not since, but he is ready to start," added Ten Hag.

"Of course [he can start for the majority of games]. We have to win every game. We want to win every tournament, so we take everything seriously.

"We not only have a team, we have a squad, but we have to win every game and that is the mentality Manchester United needs."

Ten Hag acknowledged his approach may not keep all of the big names in his squad satisfied, but says his players will get a chance to shine, providing they earn their place.

"Maybe I can not keep them all happy every game, but everyone gets the game time if they perform well, [it is] quite clear," he added. "We need everyone, we have a lot of games to cover."

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag feels "sorry" for Thomas Tuchel following his dismissal as boss of rivals Chelsea.

Tuchel surprisingly parted company with the Blues on Wednesday, just a day on from starting their Champions League campaign with a shock 1-0 loss at Dinamo Zagreb.

An indifferent start to their Premier League campaign that has produced three wins, two defeats and a draw has left Chelsea sixth in the table.

The news came as a surprise to many, though, given Chelsea spent big in the transfer window to sign the likes of Raheem Sterling, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Having also won the Champions League four months after joining the club in January 2021, most would have expected Tuchel to be afforded more time by the club's new owners led by Todd Boehly.

Asked for his reaction to Tuchel's sacking, Ten Hag had told reporters: "I feel sorry, but there is nothing I can say. It's Chelsea, not Man United. It's early in the season, yes."

United are one place and two points ahead of Chelsea in the infant Premier League.

Eric Bailly has criticised Manchester United for what he perceives to be a bias towards English players following his departure for Marseille.

Bailly was very highly rated when he became Jose Mourinho's first signing at the club in 2016, but he left late last month on a loan deal that could become permanent having only once accumulated more than 21 appearances in a full season.

Injuries undoubtedly played their part in Bailly's struggles, but he was also prone to moments of rashness and the occasional loss of concentration, which did not help his cause.

Seemingly, however, Bailly thinks there were other factors at play as well, claiming there to be a bias towards English players at the club, with his comments interpreted by many as clear criticism of the much-maligned – and now out-of-favour – captain Harry Maguire.

"The club should avoid favouring English players and give everyone a chance," he told the Times.

"[The club should] encourage competition in the dressing room, not just look out for some. I've always had the feeling that the [English] national player was prioritised.

"That doesn't happen at Chelsea or other big Premier League clubs. Some people take it for granted that they are going to start, and that weakens the team.

"Luckily [Erik] ten Hag has a lot of character and I hope he can change that dynamic."

The data certainly suggests United looked to English players more than their rivals over the past six seasons, the period Bailly is referring to.

While Liverpool (33), Tottenham (30) and Arsenal (27) have both seen more English players represent them for at least one minute across all competitions over the period in question than United (26), the Red Devils have given greater prominence to more homegrown players.

Between August 2016 and the end of last season, they had nine English players feature for at least 5,000 minutes across all competitions – none of the other so-called 'big six' have more than six English players that meet the same criteria.

Ten Hag's decision to drop Maguire and Luke Shaw suggests United do now have a manager who is willing to shake things up again, but still Bailly wanted out.

"I played important games and in some I was chosen as the best player. I think when I was given the opportunity I rose to the occasion, I just lacked consistency, because I think I deserved more minutes," he continued. "I've had good times and won titles.

"I met Ten Hag in the dressing room at the end of last season when he went to sign his contract.

"I was packing my things because my intention was to leave, but he told me he wanted me to stay because he was going to give minutes to everyone.

"I agreed to do the [pre-season] tour with United, and he kept his word, but I don't want to play every now and then. I want to do it every week and feel important. I want to get my confidence back."