Manchester United is within shouting distance of the top four despite injuries to two of its most important attackers and a tough season from a longtime star.
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Below we give each United player a grade, ranking and group them together based on their season(s) so far.
If a Red Devil is listed in this ranking it is because they’ve played in more than five games in all competitions.
A-GRADE
Marcus Rashford: My goodness, has he delivered on his promise?! Six times a MOTM, the 22-year-old has 14 goals and four assists and he’s yet to get the chance to feast off Bruno Fernandes playmaking.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Has become a consistent force over two full seasons since a sterling 2017-18 cameo for Crystal Palace. The fullback has averaged 3.8 tackles per game and 2.2 interceptions for his career.
Bruno Fernandes: He’s just met the minimum five matches and it’s a terribly small sample size, but the Portuguese has delivered all the goods. Crosses, long balls, and short-smart combination play. Beautiful.
Scott McTominay: What would United’s season look like had this rusty nail of a midfielder not missed a 3W-1D-3L stretch which included 2-0 losses to Arsenal, Liverpool, and Burnley? The club also drew Sheffield United and Aston Villa, allowing five total goals in a week without McTominay in late Fall.
B-GRADE
Harry Maguire: Just on the verge of an A, although VAR certainly doubly helped him in the win over Chelsea. The absurd price tag shouldn’t play into his grade, but maybe we’re docking him a bit.
Paul Pogba: The doubts over whether his injury absence is longer than the ailments demanded are a symptom of the sick when it comes to the coverage of Pogba, but the World Cup winner was quite decent over seven matches.
Anthony Martial: Despite Pogba and Rashford missing significant time with injuries and Bruno Fernandes not purchased until January, the 11-goal striker hasn’t gone more than four matches without a goal. He’ll make it work.
Fred
Nemanja Matic
C-GRADE
David De Gea: Is it difficult to believe that it has been almost two full seasons since the Spaniard completed a season that saw him perform as perhaps the best goalkeeper in the world? De Gea has been quite average this season.
Daniel James: Not bad for a first Premier League season, but the 22-year-old hit a lull around the festive fixtures and didn’t pull out of it until the past couple of matches. Fun fact: All three of his goals came in the first four PL matches, while his six assists came in an 11-match window between Oct. 20 and Dec. 29.
Victor Lindelof: A third season as unspectacular and pretty average for the 25-year-old, who signed a new deal in the fall.
Mason Greenwood and Brandon Williams: Don’t mistake the fact that the teenagers are extremely gifted and seemingly no-doubters with performances indicative of their ages (18 and 19). C is fine. The sky is the limit, and Williams has tempted the B range over his most recent appearances.
Luke Shaw
Juan Mata
Ashley Young
D-GRADE
Andrea Pereira: We don’t get it. We just don’t. He’s tied with James for the most big chances created on United, but is one-dimensional. Yes players who take the most risks make the most glaring errors, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is giving the 24-year-old all kinds of patience. Will it pay off?
Jesse Lingard: It’s been nearly two years since he completed an 8-goal, 5-assist PL season that teased the future. The ensuing pair of campaigns haven’t gone well.
INCOMPLETE
Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Diogo Dalot, Odion Ighalo, Marcos Rojo, Angel Gomes, Tahith Chong, Axel Tuannzebe, James Garner
