Manchester United could capitalise on star's frustration to give Erik ten Hag a perfect reunion

In a dream world, Manchester United would sign two midfielders this summer.

Erik ten Hag enjoyed a positive and promising first season in charge at Old Trafford as he ended the trophy drought, secured Champions League football and, perhaps most importantly, ended a growing apathy in the fanbase. But it was far from smooth sailing.

United suffered humiliating batterings at the hands of fierce rivals, were dumped out of the Europa League in a tie they should have won and were unable to prevent Manchester City from matching their treble triumph of 1999. There were problems up front with a costly lack of goals. There were problems between the sticks with David de Gea's old frailties striking with a vengeance. And there were problems in midfield.

The dynamic duo of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen worked a treat and were the driving force behind the side's improvement after a poor start. But they couldn't play every game and that's where problems arose. Relying on two players north of 30 is already risky but when one gets injured for months and the other keeps getting suspended, you have to rely on backup and it wasn't good enough.

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There was a noticeable drop in quality whenever Fred, Scott McTominay or Donny van de Beek played in one of their places and, though the former two have had moments, none of them have enough technical quality or consistency to function in Ten Hag's side.

So, in the ideal world, all three would be sold this summer and United would get at least two quality options, supplemented by the talented youngster Kobbie Mainoo, to replace them. United have been hopeless at selling players for years, however, so it looks unlikely.

They are at least