Erik ten Hag is still in the early days of his Manchester United rebuild but there's no denying that the foundations seem to be falling into place.
After advancing to the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, Ten Hag was handed a reminder of which Red Devils need to be part of his long-term plans at Old Trafford. Following a World Cup break in which the United boss pondered what to add over the months and years ahead, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford returned to show him that he already two key components at his disposal.
And that was pointed out by Burnley manager Vincent Kompany, who lauded the pair's performances and contributions to goals in the hard-fought 2-0 win. "I thought that both goals were worked really well," former Manchester City defender Kompany declared post-match. "The pass from Fernandes is perfect and for Ian (Maatsen), a young full-back, he needs to learn to anticipate these balls.
"Then, as well, the centre-backs, the young centre-backs, are going to learn to anticipate that ball going square again. I thought there was a lot of quality in the pass. Again, the goal we conceded from Rashford was a lot of quality on the counter, and that was always going to be a danger for us."
From Kompany's comments, it should be even clearer to Ten Hag that Fernandes and Rashford must be central to his ambitions in Manchester. Despite signing six new players over the summer transfer window in a £229million spending spree, the Red Devils duo have each started 13 of United's 14 Premier League fixtures and each extended their contracts in 2022.
While Rashford's resurgence for club and country is considerably more stark and well documented, Fernandes' improvement under Ten Hag also deserves ample credit. It's not just the Portuguese's skills on the pitch which have pleased his manager, but also his work behind the scenes. "Bruno is playing really well this season," Ten Hag acknowledged after beating Burnley.
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"In that fact, he can produce more goals and assists but I think he is often in the line of the goal. He is playing I think a massive role in a lot of moments of football for us, in build-up and in creativity and attacking, movement but also transition, both sides. In defensive transition, he is magnificent, he is doing a really good job, so I am really happy with his performance.
"[Leadership] is also one of the things; he is really an example with the way he transfers the play for us, how he motivates those around him, he is the example with the energy he gives to the team. That is really good and I’m happy with his performances and I know his goals and assists will come."
