Manchester United have only three players that Erik ten Hag can build a team around

Rewind to the early weeks of this Premier League season and it felt like Manchester United had a team of players talented enough to challenge for trophies.

When United beat Newcastle 4-1 in September it was a performance with flaws in it but they were rendered almost irrelevant because of the individual quality on show. That had tended to be the formula under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, so when his reign fell apart by the following month it felt like improvement would come about when a sharp tactician stepped in the dugout.

But the problems were deeper than anyone could have imagined back then. After another desperate day in this most despairing season, the idea that this squad is even close to competing for the title has been blown out of the water.

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There might be talent in areas of this team, but collectively they have shown failings of mentality and character and gaps that were obvious last summer have only widened now. As United close in on the appointment of Erik ten Hag as the next manager to try and make sense of this mess, the Dutchman will be assessing the squad he is to inherit and working out who has what it takes and what areas need strengthening.

On recent evidence, the answer is almost every position, but if Ten Hag was to build his ideal starting XI for the next two or three seasons then there are maybe as few as three players who look like they have that kind of longevity in them at Old Trafford. Raphael Varane was an impressive signing last summer and while the 28-year-old's injury issues this season are a concern, if the World Cup winner can maintain fitness then he should be a mainstay of this defence for years to come.

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