Man Utd have sold two of three players brutally labelled 'mood killers'

10 August 2023 , 10:27

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Man Utd have sold two of three players brutally labelled 'mood killers'

Manchester United have come on leaps and bounds under Erik ten Hag over the past season.

And one of the ways the Red Devils manager has been able to restore unity within the dressing room at Old Trafford is by offloading individuals from the previous, unsuccessful regimes at United and bringing in players that fit his mould.

Back in 2022, stand-in manager Ralf Rangnick was enduring a tricky period as head coach and hit out at his players and the club in general following a huge 4-0 defeat by bitter rivals Liverpool. He said: "It's embarrassing, it's disappointing, maybe even humiliating.

"We have to accept Liverpool are six years ahead of us now. If you analyse the situation it is not difficult to analyse. For me, it is clear there will be six, seven, eight, maybe ten new players. Before you sign those players you need to be aware of how you want to play."

A few months earlier, reported that Rangnick was disappointed with the attitude of certain individuals who he felt had too much influence behind the scenes and needed to be sold if United were going to have any chance of turning things around.

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The trio of players labelled 'mood killers' were identified as Edinson Cavani, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial. The Uruguay international was the first to depart Old Trafford, with Rangnick confirming his exit at the end of his contract.

Erik ten Hag is a fan of Anthony Martial (OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Ten Hag then took the reins at United and did little to stand in the way of Pogba's exit, with the France international leaving the Red Devils on a free for the second time in his career and re-joining Juventus.

There have been question marks over Martial for some time now after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer splashed the cash on Jadon Sancho and Ten Hag signed Antony, also in the Frenchman's position.

This, coupled with Marcus Rashford's sensational form, the emergence of Alejandro Garnacho, and United splashing the cash on Rasmus Hojlund, suggested Martial would soon follow suit and leave United. But this is yet to happen.

Martial has missed much of United's pre-season due to injury, but Ten Hag appears to be a fan of the winger and there has been no talk that the Frenchman will depart this summer or indeed in January.

Ten Hag said of Martial a few months ago: "I want him to be [fit] because he's a great player – he definitely has the qualities to play in top football – and when he is fit our team plays better. I think he can play across the front. For me, he's best at centre-forward, but he can play in the wide position as well."

Jake Polden