It is no secret that Manchester United have overachieved this season in context to the pre-season predictions about the team. Offer any of us a trophy and a top-four place, along with the chance at a second trophy, and we would have bitten your hand off.
Part of it is down to recruitment, where Erik ten Hag bought in players worth nearly £250 million.
However, the key reason has been his coaching, leading to improvements from players already at the club. The fans are completely behind the manager due to this reason, as the progress is clear to see.
Here are the five most improved players at Manchester United this season, which fills the fans with hope that more is coming next year:
Marcus Rashford
It was only a year ago that Jamie Carragher was proclaiming that Marcus Rashford should leave Manchester United. Paris Saint-Germain were circling, Barcelona were mentioned, and Rashford himself looked lost at United.
If Ralf Rangnick’s short and ill-fated reign destroyed one thing the most, it was Marcus Rashford’s confidence. He suffered injuries, played through them, received abuse for his performances, and looked like a shell of the player who broke through with confidence and played with a smile on his face.
An output of just five goals and two assists in 32 games across all competitions spoke of a player who had regressed, probably irreversibly. However, Erik ten Hag came in with a mission this season
Trusted as the talisman of the team, free from injury, and playing in a team that attacked cohesively in patterns, Rashford has had the most successful season of his career so far. 29 goals and 11 assists in 53 games across all competitions speak for themselves, but it is the minor things that don’t show on the stat sheet which are most noticeable to the eyes.
The smile is back, the swagger has returned, and the wonderkind that was promised is back on track to becoming one of the world’s best. Although fatigue has caught up with him now, Rashford has put the footballing world on notice with his displays this season. Now it is United’s move to extend his contract.
Luke Shaw
Another good player who became a victim of the malaise affecting United last season. Luke Shaw had a nightmare 2021/22 season. He missed a combined 85 days due to various injuries, including the flaring up of a leg injury in his leg that was broken on that fateful night against PSV.
Shaw made just 19 league starts for the club, with fans going as far as to write him off and appoint Brandon Williams as his heir apparent at the left-back slot, with Alex Telles also preferred ahead of him sometimes. How times have changed!
This season’s Shaw is a man possessed, in the most complimentary way possible. He is inarguably United’s first-choice left-back, and an argument can be made he is also Erik ten Hag’s 3rd best centre-back. With his world-class ball progression skills, silkiness in his left foot, and aerial domination and fitness, Luke Shaw has become the first name on the team-sheet this season.
A far cry from Brandon Williams taking his place, Shaw has instead signed a new contract that ties him to the club till 2027. Truly an immense transformation from last season.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Forget about improvement from last season to this, Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s improvement from pre-World Cup to post-World Cup has been remarkable. He was one of the players whose place was assumed immediately under threat when Erik ten Hag took over.
A more old-school full-back who lacked attacking nous, Wan-Bissaka became the forgotten man at United during the season before the World Cup break. Reports linked him to Crystal Palace as United were preparing to take a huge hit on their £50 million outlay, a familiar scenario in the ‘Glazernomics’ era.
However, as Ten Hag himself attributed later, Wan-Bissaka’s approach changed after November. He began to show the fruits of the time coaches spent with him during the World Cup break. Shaking off niggling injuries, Wan-Bissaka even displaced Diogo Dalot from his position when the latter was back fit. There was a newfound attacking vibrance to his game, as he repeatedly overlaps now, even showing off the odd step-over and skill to beat his man in attack, a ridiculous thought for Wan-Bissaka of last season.
Marking his return from the wilderness with a statement lockdown performance against Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma in the FA Cup semi-final, Wan-Bissaka has resurrected his United career from the ashes. Another case of Ten Hag not giving up on a player, and not freezing them out altogether.
Diogo Dalot
Ten Hag’s becoming somewhat of a full-back whisperer! Diogo Dalot’s tale at United before this season had been one of unfulfilled potential. Heralded by Jose Mourinho as one of the best young fullbacks in the world when he signed, he never truly found a place at United. Even a loan at AC Milan had mixed results, with glimpses of potential outshined by a lack of concentration in defence, and some errors.
Coming into the season, the expectation was that Diogo Dalot would be the stopgap solution to United’s right-back spot for a year not because he was very good, but just because Wan-Bissaka was worse than him in the attacking phase.
However, Dalot laid all those claims to rest with a statement run of form leading up to the World Cup. Playing the most minutes this season of his career, Dalot has cemented his position as a player of Manchester United quality. He scored his first Premier League goal, and his versatility of being able to play both fullback positions has allowed Ten Hag to manoeuvre his defence in the face of an injury crisis.
Dalot has probably saved United upwards of £40 million in the transfer market with his career renaissance. Now in talks for a new contract at the club, maybe he turns out to be another of Jose Mourinho’s predictions that ages like wine.