Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has reportedly left some of his players frustrated after assuring them of playing time this season before going back on his word.
According to ESPN, this even meant in some cases that a few Man Utd players changed their transfer plans due to thinking they’d get more opportunities in Solskjaer’s side this season.
The Red Devils are going through a difficult run of form on the pitch at the moment, and reports like this just add to the sense that all is not well behind the scenes at Old Trafford.
The report names Jesse Lingard, Donny van de Beek, Anthony Martial, Dean Henderson, Alex Telles, Juan Mata, Diogo Dalot, and Eric Bailly as being among the players who are currently frustrated with their situation.
There’s certainly some justification in players like Lingard and Van de Beek feeling overlooked when United’s form has been so poor, but some of the other names on there have arguably had their chances in the past and failed to make enough of an impact to earn more playing opportunities.
Still, MUFC need to change something after their recent slump, so perhaps there is now going to be more room for Lingard and Van de Beek, and perhaps even a few of the other names on that list.
Former United midfielder Luke Chadwick suggested as much when he spoke to CaughtOffside this week, saying: “Maybe it’s time to try something different and give different players an opportunity. Donny van de Beek’s been there a season a half nearly and hardly had any playing time.
“He’s shown in the past what a talented player he is, so maybe it’s time to give him a run of games. They’re not going to win a league with the team they’ve been putting out this season so maybe it is time to look at something different.”