Ajax has been a valuable resource for Erik ten Hag during his transfer dealings at Manchester United, but his other former club, Bayern Munich, has not been quite as accommodating.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Ten Hag, as Bayern suffered a shocking defeat at Villa Park on Wednesday, with Aston Villa pulling off one of the Champions League’s biggest surprises. Ten Hag, who managed Bayern's second team between 2013 and 2015, could have done without this surprise victory.

After spending three pivotal years working alongside Dan Ashworth at Brighton, Graham Potter believes Ashworth can help get Manchester United back on track.

Since joining United over the summer as sporting director, Ashworth has faced a challenging start, navigating a period of transition and high-profile struggles, most notably around the future of manager Erik ten Hag.

Erik ten Hag believes Manchester United's "most important" challenge is improving the team's self-belief as they prepare for key fixtures against Porto and Aston Villa this week. Under pressure after a crushing 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Ten Hag has been given the upcoming trips to Porto and Villa Park before the international break to turn things around.

Despite the scrutiny surrounding his position, Ten Hag remains unfazed about the possibility of losing his job. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, he insisted that he is not concerned about his future and emphasized that the club is "together" under the new ownership structure. However, he acknowledges that his side needs to improve on the pitch, especially after United's poor start to the Premier League season, equaling their joint-worst opening six-game record.

"We have to think about Alejandro Garnacho, who is best from the left as well and has so much end product," said Erik ten Hag ahead of Manchester United's European match this week.

His comment highlighted the ongoing dilemma he faces on the left wing, with Garnacho and Marcus Rashford seemingly in competition for the same position.

Ten Hag's remarks came in response to a question about Rashford, shedding light on the internal competition between Rashford and Garnacho for the left flank. Although Garnacho has shown his versatility by playing on both wings, statistics over the past 10 months suggest that he is surprisingly more effective on the right side. In the current 2023/24 season, Garnacho averages a goal every 258 minutes on the right, compared to a goal every 456 minutes on the left, challenging Ten Hag’s perception of him as primarily a left winger.

Christian Eriksen has made a blunt admission, saying that FC Twente “wanted it more” than Manchester United in their Europa League clash on Wednesday night. Despite manager Erik ten Hag fielding a strong team with only three changes from the side that faced Crystal Palace over the weekend, United failed to secure a win, settling for a disappointing 1-1 draw.

From the start, Marcus Rashford looked sharp on the left wing, but it was Eriksen who provided the breakthrough in the 35th minute.

The Danish midfielder, starting his fourth consecutive game, fired United into the lead with a brilliant strike into the top corner, showing his recent form and confidence. His goal was seemingly unstoppable, and everything appeared to be going right for him in recent weeks.

Manchester United have reportedly come to the conclusion that demolishing Old Trafford may be unavoidable, rather than retaining the historic stadium alongside any new "Wembley of the North" they plan to build.

The initial hope was to preserve the 114-year-old venue, turning it into a 'mini Old Trafford' with a reduced capacity of around 30,000 for the academy and women’s teams. However, recent developments suggest that plan may be too complicated and costly to pursue.

Emmanuel Petit recently shared how Sir Alex Ferguson made an effort to sign him for Manchester United before he eventually joined Chelsea in 2001. Petit, who had already built an impressive career at Monaco, Arsenal, and Barcelona, revealed that Ferguson personally contacted him twice while he was unsettled at Barcelona, hoping to bring him to Old Trafford.

Petit first made his name at Monaco, where he amassed 291 appearances before joining Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in 1997.

Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha believes Erik ten Hag could face the sack if his side fails to beat Southampton on Saturday. Despite winning the FA Cup last season, Ten Hag is under increasing pressure after United's poor start to the new campaign.

United scraped past Fulham with a narrow 1-0 win in their opener, but have since suffered defeats to Brighton and a humiliating loss at home to Liverpool before the international break. With Southampton, who have lost all three of their Premier League games, up next, Saha thinks a defeat could spell the end for Ten Hag.

When Manchester United signed Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in January 2018, excitement was at an all-time high. Sanchez had netted 38 goals since the 2016/17 season and was considered one of the Premier League’s elite players.

The Chilean forward arrived at Old Trafford in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move to Arsenal.

For £14 million, United had seemingly secured a proven goal scorer, with Sanchez already registering nine goals for Arsenal that season.

Upon his arrival, Sanchez expressed his joy at joining United. "I am thrilled to be joining the biggest club in the world," he said. "The chance to play in this historic stadium and to work with Jose Mourinho was something I could not turn down." His words stirred excitement, but his United career quickly spiraled into disappointment.

Manchester United winger Marcus Rashford has taken a proactive approach to improving his form by undergoing a personal training regime after missing out on an England call-up during the international break.

Despite a difficult start to the season, Rashford has opted to stay in Manchester and work on his fitness and technique rather than taking time off.

Rashford, 26, had a stellar 2022/23 season, scoring 30 goals, but has struggled to replicate that form recently. Last season saw a noticeable dip in his performances, managing only eight goals and six assists, which resulted in his omission from the European Championships squad. His struggles continued into the current season, with no goals for United so far, leading to his exclusion from the England squad once again under the new regime.