Betfair Ambassador, Dimitar Berbatov gives his views on all things Manchester United ahead of the return of the Premier League, including his thoughts on the club’s lengthy injury list, Mason Mount and potential January signings
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Man Utd injury list is a worry
United’s injury list – oh my God, it’s a long list, with players who normally play. We don’t know how long some of them will be injured for either, and that can put more stress on the situation.
United have shown signs of improvement in recent games, and in other games they have shown signs where things need to be fixed if they are to have a successful season. But that successful season can be difficult to achieve with this long injury list. Let’s hope nobody else is added to the injury list. I’m worried.
Onana, Martinez, Evans, Eriksen, Casemiro, Hojlund – these are key players Man United are missing, so of course, the team will be a bit worried.
The players will talk to each other, the injured players will be trying their best to be back as soon as possible. But, on the other hand, it gives opportunities to other players who are not playing regularly, to show what they can do.
This is the moment they can step up.
Sometimes in football you deserve to play but you don’t based on tactical reasons or whatever, so now is your chance to step up and show what you can do. Sometimes, a few injuries can be a good thing for other players to step up and say, ‘gaffer, look at me, I’m here, I’ll do what the other players can do’.
You can’t help but feel sympathy for Ten Hag when something like this happens while you’re trying to build something. You are pressed from fans and the media for results, and you have an injury list so big and you’re wondering what to do so it is hard not to sympathise with any manager in this situation.
At the same time, though, you need to accept it and take it as a challenge. Now, Ten Hag needs to show how good he is as a manager because he’s managing one of the biggest teams in the world.
He needs to know how to steer the team in the right direction and get the points.
Mason Mount needs to produce more
Let’s talk about Mason Mount. We all know he needs to step up because he hasn’t played well since joining United. So, he’s the player I want to see give more and produce more, because in some of the games, it looks like he doesn’t know how to fit into that system. He looks a bit lost from time to time, but we all know the quality he possesses.
He was bought for big money which brings big expectations, but not only that, his stress levels will be high.
At this moment, he knows he needs to produce, he knows he needs to step up and show the quality that we all know he has. It’s not working out, so now is the opportunity to stay concentrated and just be in the game and start to show the quality you showed at Chelsea. United need that quality to help the team.
Varane and Marital have to prove their worth
With Hojlund out, who is going to take that place up front? Rashford? We know he doesn’t like it there. Martial? I don’t think he likes it there either. Garnacho? He plays on the wing. So now there is a dilemma – who is going to play as the centre-forward?
McTominay is using the opportunities given to him to be the hero when the team needs him – he’s giving everything for the team.
I really hope Martial has a future at Man United. I’m a bit biased because I used to play with him, and I saw the quality he has. Everyone knows that he’s not working the way he should be. He’s not using his quality properly and he’s struggling because of this. He needs to be shaken up a little bit and there are moments where he needs to push hard and change his game.
I saw in the last couple of games, he did that, he pressed, he was angry in his body language and going hard towards the opposition. He needs to do something extra.
When you’ve been at a club for a long time, you get complacent. From time to time, you need to challenge yourself and the people around you need to wake you up and say, ‘look, you have so many qualities that you’re not using correctly. Wake up, do more and bring it to the team’.
Varane will get time to play with Jonny Evans injured. I can understand Varane’s anger when Evans was picked ahead of him because when you’re Varane, you’ve won everything, you are younger than Evans, you came to United to play and now all of a sudden, a 35-year-old player is taking your place.
Now is his chance to show that he deserves to play. Not that he needs to prove anything because he’s won so much, but just to fit back into the team.
When fit Casemiro can still give a lot to United
Football can be strange sometimes. You do well in your first season, you bring your form from Real Madrid, but then in the second season you start to struggle and then you get injured.
Now, you’re going to try to work your way back into the team from injury, but on the other hand when you try to get fit, the team will probably look for someone else to come in and help.
So, you’re going to have competition for your place when you’re back fit, so the situation gets trickier. That’s how football works sometimes.
Casemiro needs to work hard, fast, to come back into the team because he can still give a lot more to the team.
January window is always a risk
If United choose to go and buy someone in the January transfer market, I’m curious to see who that’s going to be. United loaned in Amrabat and he needs to step up a bit more as well.
Antoinne Griezmann has been linked in January, but if he comes, then what happens if Hojlund and Griezmann are fit? Griezmann needs to play because he’s Griezmann, so is Hojlund not playing then? If Hojlund doesn’t play, then it’s like, why did you buy him? It would become a mess. I don’t think that transfer will happen.
United’s form guarantees nothing
Everyone will hope for a top-four finish at Man United this season. They have won 12 points from the last 15, and it is good form to have coming back from the international break.
That shouldn’t give them comfort, it needs to give them ambition to do even better.
Let’s not jump to conclusions here, because as we’ve witnessed before, Man United have a couple good games and then there comes another two or three games when you don’t recognise how the team plays and they lose points when they shouldn’t. You need to take it game-by-game, especially with that injury list.
For more from Betfair Ambassador Dimitar Berbatov, head to https://betting.betfair.com/football/dimitar-berbatov/
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