Erik ten Hag's biggest success story at Manchester United is no longer up for debate

Manchester United were on their knees when Erik ten Hag took charge last year.

The 2021/22 season's final day loss at Crystal Palace which Ten Hag witnessed from the directors' box may well have left him thinking there was more work to be done than first imagined. Ten Hag would have been forgiven for thinking he'd turned up at the wrong ground such was the lifeless performance put in by United at Selhurst Park.

There was no fight, no responsibility, no hope. Many saw Ten Hag's first season at United as a transitional one where he would attempt to right the wrongs of the last couple of years and make the Reds competitive again.

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However, he achieved far more than that. The Carabao Cup may not be the most prestigious trophy but it proved United were back on the right track.

Returning to the Champions League and finishing runners-up in the FA Cup were solid achievements but only now, as we sit here on the verge of the 2023/24 season, can we see which success story stands above the rest.

For many, Marcus Rashford's 2021/22 campaign will be difficult to reflect upon. To watch a United academy product lose all self-confidence was heartbreaking.

It was speculated that Rashford's time at Old Trafford could be coming to an end, and many would be lying if they claimed they had not thought for at least one second this might be the right call for both the club and the player. However, Ten Hag's arrival changed all that.

Rashford's performances in 2022/23 were night and day to what we saw a season prior. This was the player we had all expected