Ralf Rangnick believes Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are not good enough to play for Manchester United
According to 90min (h/t The Daily Star), Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has left no stone unturned in his appraisal of Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw.
The trio have been mainstays in the Manchester United defence for the last couple of years and were nigh on undroppable under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The same cannot be said under Rangnick, who has deemed them expendable.
Both Wa-Bissaka and Shaw have seen their game time curtailed since Rangnick’s appointment. The former is as good as a barn door going forward while Shaw’s form has fallen off a cliff. It is difficult to claim either of them is deserving of more time in the playing XI as things stand.
Wan-Bissaka has been decent in defence but his ability to recover and snuff out opposition attacks takes the focus off his other deficiencies. More so his lack of attacking impetus sees him found wanting in an era where full-backs are fashionable once again.
Shaw enjoyed a brilliant 2020-21 season where he was even named in the PFA Team of the Year. He carried his good form into the Euros and even scored in the final against Italy. However, he appears to have mislaid his form on the way back and looks lost on the field. To say that Alex Teles has done better than him this season would be an understatement.
Maguire, the most expensive defender in football has done precious little to back up that title. The Man United skipper has failed to anchor the rearguard and has himself been guilty of quite a few howlers. Unlike Solskjaer, Rangnick does not appear to be ready to look the other way.
Rangnick is ready to sell the three players and has already informed the club’s director of football, John Murtough and CEO Richard Arnold of his assessment. The German will continue at Old Trafford as a consultant once his stint as manager expires in the summer. Talent appraisal and identification is a key aspect of his job and any reprieve the Man United trio could have expected will go up in smoke.
The Man United boss already appears to be drawing up a list of potential replacements. One of the players on the list is Wolverhampton Wanderers star, Max Kilman. A defensive overhaul appears to be on the cards, should Rangnick get his way.
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Man United are yet to dip into the January transfer window and it remains to be seen if they will make any late moves. The Red Devils will appoint a permanent manager next summer and any big moves will have to wait until then.
Rangnick’s admission that some of our players are not good enough is an uncomfortable truth that needed to be told. Certain standards are expected of Manchester United players and we cannot afford to set the bar low. Hopefully, the trio will step up to the plate and prove the manager wrong in the second half of this season.
Should they continue to disappoint, the club will do well to cut their losses and bring in players who can make a difference on the field. After all mediocrity only breeds mediocrity.
