Manchester United player has two months to prove Sir Jim Ratcliffe wrong about his wages

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's flurry of media activity a couple of weeks ago would have certainly caught the attention of the Manchester United dressing room. It is unusual for the owner of a football club to talk on the record in quite so much detail about what his players earn and whether they are value for money.

Ratcliffe suggested some players were "overpaid" and "not good enough" and then went on to detail the players who weren't available to Ruben Amorim but still sit near the top of the tree when it comes to wages.

“If you look at the top eight players in terms of salaries in Manchester United, 50 per cent of those are not available to Ruben,” Ratcliffe told The Times and The Telegraph. “And if you had the same at Manchester City or Liverpool, it would be a very different case for them.”

The 72-year-old named Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Luke Shaw and Mason Mount as the four players in that category who haven't been available to Amorim. Rashford was ostracised by the head coach and is now on loan at Aston Villa, while Sancho is on loan at Chelsea.

Shaw and Mount will feel the heat a little more. Mount has had an awful run of injuries since signing from Chelsea for £55million, but he is clearly an Amorim favourite, and if he can stay fit, he will have a role to play.

Shaw will feel he has a point to prove, however, having again returned to training on Friday. It is one of many attempted returns for the 29-year-old, who hasn't started a game for his club in 13 months and has managed just three substitute appearances.

United are keen to take things slower with Shaw's latest comeback attempt, but the player will now be aware that Ratcliffe is taking salaries seriously at Old Trafford. If a player is among the highest earners