Gary Neville, Jaap Stam disagree over Man Utd player of the season; much-improved Fred receives mention

Former Manchester United defenders Gary Neville and Jaap Stam have disagreed over who should receive the club’s player of the season award following a poor campaign.

The Red Devils had their worst Premier League season since England’s top tier was rebranded back in 1992. They finished with just 58 points, 35 behind rivals and eventual champions Manchester City.

Manchester United ended the season in sixth place, enough to qualify them for next term’s Europa League. They could have ended up in the Europa Conference League if it weren’t for West Ham’s defeat to Brighton on the final day.

Of course, Ralf Rangnick’s side didn’t pick up any silverware either. The closest they came to winning a trophy was reaching the Champions League round of 16 – showing just how far behind they are from Europe’s elite clubs.

New boss Erik ten Hag has a big job on his hands to get United competitive again. It won’t be a quick turnaround, but fans will be hoping he can improve the mood around the club in the next season or two.

United’s plight this term is perfectly demonstrated by their lack of nominees for the player of the season award. The accolade was scrapped earlier this month, with players too embarrassed after such a poor year.

Neville and Stam have put forward different names for the award, were it to actually happen. However, they both think the much-improved Fred deserves to be in contention after a solid campaign.

Neville said: “How many times has David De Gea won it since Sir Alex left? I’m going to go for De Gea, to be honest with you. The only other two I could think of would be Fred and [Cristiano] Ronaldo.

“We’d be in dire straits without Ronaldo’s goals but I think, without De Gea, we’d be dead! I could say Ronaldo. I’d go