When Erik ten Hag took over at Manchester United in the summer of 2021 he brought a great deal of hope to the club’s fanbase following what was then their worst Premier League season.
That hope arrived with even greater expectation that one of the most exciting thinkers in the modern game was arriving at Old Trafford to oversee a much-needed rebuild. What decisions would be made? What would his side look like?
Perhaps indicative of the current slump in form, three seasons and 21 signings later, question marks remain. Now known for his tinkering in some areas and a touch of obstinance in others, Ten Hag’s team selections have been the focus of much debate and confusion. But even at their best, interrogations will continue about how good are United’s finest.
Using Ten Hag’s favoured formation of a 4-2-3-1, statistics have been used to assemble United’s best XI in accordance with a selection of key metrics for each position alongside where they rank with their Premier League colleagues.
Goalkeeper: Andre Onana
Although his unorthodox style divides opinion, there’s no real debate as to whether he makes United’s best eleven. He’s been Ten Hag’s preferred option in the league and after a mixed-bag first term at the club, slowly looks to be finding form.
Onana currently leads the league in terms of clean sheets with four and, while clean sheets might be considered a team effort, the Cameroon international currently ranks third for goals prevented – only behind Newcastle United’s Nick Pope and Leicester City’s Mads Hermansen.
Maguire pips De Ligt at centre-back
The back four has been the nucleus of United’s consistent inconsistency over the course of the last 18 months. Some form of continuity was hoped to be established for this season with Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt all making the switch to Manchester during the summer window.
With Mazraoui and De Ligt having played under Ten Hag previously in a successful Ajax team, fans would have hoped for both to hit the ground running instantly. However, that hasn’t been the case with De Ligt yet to truly stake a claim for a permanent place at centre-back.
In the league alone, United have fielded three different centre-back combinations already with De Ligt most recently losing his starting spot to Harry Maguire at Aston Villa. Based on the chosen statistics, Maguire is indeed the better option at right centre-back.
Lisandro Martinez’s form hasn’t necessarily picked up after he spent the majority of last season out with an injury. However, the Argentine stands as the centre-back with the most interceptions that retain possession in the league. Jonny Evans merits an honourable mention after the 36-year-old impressed against Villa.
Mazraoui takes the right full-back spot. He’s been a slight positive since making his debut against Fulham on the opening day. The Morocco international currently ranks third in terms of tackles per 90 among Premier League right-backs this season so far with 3.38.
On the other side, Dalot features at left-back. Known for his ability going forward, displaying an ability to step into midfield and invert, the Portuguese is among the league leaders for tackle success percentage per 90 minutes played.
The midfield conundrum
Ten Hag started the season with a midfield pivot that included both Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo, the experienced Brazilian taking a deeper role while Mainoo was the slightly more advanced of the two.
However, since Casemiro’s errors that led to two goals against Liverpool in September, the 32-year-old hasn’t started in the league. Instead, Christian Eriksen has partnered Mainoo in the middle of the park, meaning Eriksen assumed the slightly advanced role with the England international sitting slightly deeper.
Mainoo’s form hasn’t been as eye-catching as it was last season when he made the seamless step up into first-team football, but according to the chosen metrics he is among the top-performing defensive midfielders in the league. The 19-year-old leads in terms of tackle success and long ball success percentage per 90 minutes played and ranks within the top five for interceptions, passing accuracy and take-ons.
Partnering Mainoo in midfield is Eriksen with Bruno Fernandes slightly ahead. However, the attacking midfield position may be one for Ten Hag to reconsider with Fernandes’ form continuing to underwhelm. On international duty, Fernandes himself spoke of how he needs to take “responsibility” for his goalscoring in a United shirt – he is yet to find the net for his club this season.
Creativity is an additional problem for the captain this season, with Eriksen actually United’s better creator. The Dane played further forward earlier on in his career and the numbers say United could benefit from him taking up a position further forward.
Who starts on the wings?
The forward line has also been the subject of much change at Old Trafford this season. When you factor in that only four sides in Europe’s top five leagues have scored fewer goals than United this season, it hints at why Ten Hag is still yet to find a winning formula.
Amad takes the right-wing spot as he represents United’s biggest creator on that side of the pitch. On the left-hand side, the discussion is a little more open. The left is both Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford’s favoured side and it’s fair to suggest neither has set the world alight since the summer.
However, the stats look favourably on Garnacho as they suggest he could currently be United’s most effective option.
Hojlund or Zirkzee?
Trouble scoring goals extends to the person leading the line at Old Trafford. With Rasmus Hojlund struggling with injury during the early stages of the season, summer signing Joshua Zirkzee has been tasked with finding the back of the net for United. However, the self-proclaimed “9.5” has only one goal to his name so far this season.
The Dutchman represents a different profile of striker, hoping to drop deep and knit play together with neat touches into the channels for the likes of Rashford to benefit with runs in behind.
With Hojlund only recently finding fitness to return against Crystal Palace in September, there hasn’t been much of a sample size to pit him against Zirkzee, however when compared with Hojlund’s first full year in the Premier League, there is very little to split the players with the chosen metrics. For that reason, at present, Zirkzee is the best option.
United’s best XI in full: