After a tough start to the season, Manchester United have gone from strength-to-strength under Erik ten Hag.
Quietly, the Red Devils are putting together quite a smart season under the Dutchman. They’re into the Premier League's top three, have one foot in the Carabao Cup Final, are progressing nicely in the FA Cup and have two mouthwatering Europa League matches against Barcelona to look forwards to later this month. They look like a football team with a plan once more.
That’s despite the Cristiano Ronaldo saga that threatened to derail not just their season, but Ten Hag’s entire management of the first team. However, the ex-Ajax boss navigated those particular choppy waters with aplomb.
He did likewise with the January transfer window, which United largely went through with minimal fuss. Only Jack Butland and Wout Weghorst arrived - both on loan deals, with the club having invested heavily on the squad last summer - but sometimes, the best business can be no business and instead focusing on the development of pre-existing relationships.
With all that being said, Mirror Football takes a look at the winners and losers within the United squad after the close of the January transfer window.
Winner: Marcus Rashford
He’s not gone anywhere and he’s not signed a new contract, but the England forward is a big winner at Old Trafford this January.
On the field he’s been in red-hot form, and the arrival of Weghorst means Rashford can continue playing from his preferred role starting out on the left and cutting inside. Had the giant Dutchman not arrived, then with Anthony Martial’s injury issues, Ronaldo’s departure and Mason Greenwood’s continued absence, Rashford would have likely been tasked with the No.9 role that sees him spend more time with his back to goal and be less involved in build-up play than he would like.
Off the field, his long-term future may not be sorted and his deal is into its final 18 months after United exercised their 12-month option back in December to take it through to summer 2024. But that’s no big issue. It will ultimately take care of itself if he continues to deliver the goods in a United shirt and if he continues to score goals and shine on a consistent basis… whether it ends with him getting paid at Old Trafford, or elsewhere.
Loser: Christian Eriksen
With Casemiro’s class and Bruno Fernandes' returning brilliance, Christian Eriksen has been the quiet, largely unheralded member of United’s central midfield trio, but the Dane has been extremely effective for Ten Hag’s men operating from a deep midfield role.
However, one bad tackle from Andy Carroll during the FA Cup win over Reading means Eriksen is set to be sidelined for the next three months.
It’s a huge blow for the player and his manager, for whom the ex-Spurs and Inter Milan star has been one of his most reliable performers this term.
Winner: Harry Maguire
As the old saying goes, ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
And had Manchester United allowed club captain Harry Maguire to join Inter Milan on loan when the Italians came calling, that would certainly have been the case.
Let’s make no mistake, had the England defender gone to San Siro - even on a temporary deal - it would have been the death knell for his Red Devils career.
But in staying put and remaining in a position to work under Ten Hag each and every day, Maguire is giving himself the best possible chance to save his Old Trafford career. He’s been working with the Dutchman on playing on the right of a centre-back partnership - Ten Hag doesn’t like him on the left - and is now the de-facto backup to Raphael Varane; the Frenchman gets injured, suspended or is unavailable for whatever reason, Maguire is next in line.
He remains a big presence in the dressing room and after a difficult opening six months to the season, still has the opportunity to lead United to a first trophy since 2017
Loser: Shola Shoretire
Unlike Maguire, young midfielder Shola Shoretire has gone out on loan to Bolton Wanderers to get some game time under his belt.
Shoretire has been highly-regarded within the club’s youth system for some time and the Newcastle-born 18-year-old made his senior debut in February 2021. But he needs regular senior action, something he’ll get in League One.
However, it won’t have escaped his attention that in his absence Kobbie Mainoo has stepped up into he first-team squad and has been afforded minutes and opportunities of late. That’s the flip side of the coin that comes with going out - there’s always someone ready to step up.
In this situation, getting senior action will only aid Shoretire’s development.
But it could also push a player once labelled ‘the new Paul Scholes’ down the pecking order and indirectly lead to his United exit.
Winner: Wout Weghorst
This one is pretty self-explanatory let's be honest.
In late November, the Burnley misfit, cast aside to Turkish club Besiktas for the season, wasn't even on United's radar. But after a decent enough start to the season and then making an impact at the World Cup, coupled with Ten Hag's desire for a new centre-forward after Ronaldo's exit, the stars aligned for the ex-Wolfsburg man.
After being brought in at relatively little cost, the 30-year-old gives United's attack a focal point, allows Rashford to play where he's most comfortable and offers Ten Hag a striker who likes to press - unlike his predecessor.
He's not perfect, he's not going to break any club records, but he's a perfectly solid acquisition. And sometimes, that's precisely what you need.
Loser: Scott McTominay
So Newcastle United were told that they couldn't have Scott McTominay during this particular window.
But all signs point towards that being a deal revisited in the summer, and if McTominay was uncertain about his status under Ten Hag before, then the activities of the final day will have made it much more clear to the Scotland international.
With Christian Eriksen's injury set to rule him out for three months, McTominay could well have thought to himself 'right, sleeves up, it's me and Fred fighting to play with Casemiro'. Instead, United headed straight into talks with Bayern Munich over a move to bring hard-running Austria international midfielder Marcel Sabitzer to the Premier League.
That move did go through, and it shows McTominay that he's not at the forefront of his manager's mind - and likely never will be.
