What's a mistake if you don't repeat it

Manchester United have got a big squad with a lot of quality. Of course, that's a good thing, something that every coach would desire. But the downside is that there will always be someone left out. For Manchester United, one of the most popular clubs in the world, the pressure is even stronger because there will be many people questioning decisions made by the technical staff.

Ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, there was a lot of noise surrounding attacking midfielder Jesse Lingard. He's had an extremely fruitful loan spell at West Ham, after which the Hammers were keen to pay big bucks to sign him permanently. But the then-manager Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer insisted that Lingard would be a first-team regular at Old Trafford. It turned out that the promise was empty. Besides a few cameos, Lingard spent the last year of his United contract frustrated and mainly on the bench because neither Solskjaer nor Ralf Rangnick counted on him.

18.00: (2.40) Shabab Al Ordon (3.00) Sahab (3.05)

As a result, Manchester United have missed out on a sizeable transfer fee, West Ham lost the player who'd made a significant impact in London, and the player himself threw away a year of his career.

It was a big mistake - and it can be repeated unless new boss Erik Ten Hag makes up his mind quickly about who will play and who won't.

Andreas Pereira, Tahith Chong and Axel Tuanzebe are now into the final 12 months of their respective contracts - and all of them have been on loan in the previous campaign.

The trio all spent last season out on loan, with their experiences proving mixed. Tuanzebe struggled to find much joy at both Aston Villa and Napoli. Pereira experienced an up-and-down time at Flamengo. Chong saw his number of games reduced by a severe thigh injury despite showing flashes of his brilliance at Birmingham City.

Already, Pereira — who is wanted by Fulham — and Feyenoord target Chong have suitors, meaning United find themselves in a good position to offload each of them for a transfer fee, as opposed to losing them for potentially nothing in a year. Just the interest being there is a good start.

Tuanzebe, on the other hand, is yet to find a suitor, although he could be embedded within Ten Hag's plans if he impresses in pre-season. But at the age of 24, it is unlikely he has a long-term future at United, just like Pereira and Chong.

It's a question of playing them or selling them. If United stay undecided, they will only throw away more money and leave three players starved of action.