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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Omar Garrick

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s transfer error has come back to haunt Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United

Since Manchester United sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November, there have been many changes, but many issues still need addressing.

Ralf Rangnick has since been appointed as United's interim manager, and to say he's had an easy ride would be a bad judgement of some of the problems going on at Old Trafford.

There was an expectation from most United supporters that Rangnick would improve everything all at once - like he had a magic wand! As we've seen in recent weeks, he's going to need some time to sort out a lot of the dressing room discontent in the player camp.

Suppose you've been following United in recent weeks. In that case, you'll know there have been multiple reports around the amount of unhappiness in the squad, and fans have speculated that this could be due to the number of players who simply aren't getting the game time they need ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

From Paul Pogba to Jesse Lingard, many players at United have futures that are up in the air, but one person who perhaps stands out from the crowd is goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

If you asked me who I thought United's number one goalkeeper would be going into the new campaign last season, I would've backed the England shot-stopper. However, as we've seen so far, it just hasn't worked out.

This season, Henderson has started just two matches in the Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham and the 1-1 draw to Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League. He needs more time in the net.

In the pre-match press conference to the Aston Villa, Rangnick confirmed he wanted him to stay but accepted the player's demands in needing minutes;

He said: "I told him [Henderson] I would like him to stay — I can fully understand he wants to play. He's at an age where you should regularly play as a goalkeeper but we're in three competitions and we need the three goalkeepers we have right now."

Henderson deserves more minutes on the pitch (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images) ((Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images))

There's no doubt that the form of David de Gea has contributed to Henderson getting next to no game time, but this has been a problem that's been coming.

United supporters will remember the issues around the Henderson/De Gea saga last season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer which, looking back on it, hasn't helped the situation.

De Gea was struggling for form last season, and when he took time out of the team for the birth of his daughter, Yanay, Henderson took his opportunity and had a regular run of games under Solskjaer.

But in United's 4-2 home defeat to Liverpool, Henderson didn't play well, which allowed De Gea to break back into the team. The Spaniard was eventually picked in the most critical 2020/21 campaign game - the Europa League final against Villarreal.

De Gea went on to miss the penalty that lost United the trophy, and it was hard to see a way back for him in that moment. However, fans backed him to come back stronger, and he has done to his credit.

But Solskjaer's decision not to sell one of the goalkeepers in the summer has come back to haunt Rangnick because it's created further unrest in the dressing room. Henderson is too good to sit on the bench, and some of the fans' fears about the rivalry have proven to be true.

What's obvious is that Henderson needs game time, and with the form of De Gea, it's hard to see where he's going to get it at Old Trafford.

Rangnick needs to sort the issue because it cannot go any further, seeing as it's becoming a disruptive topic. He either needs to start playing him in more matches or allow him to leave on loan. Only then will the problem be solved.

Follow our United On My Mind writer Omar Garrick on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.

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