It summarized the entire reign, didn’t it? Manchester United, led by Erik ten Hag, travelled to Villa Park prior to the international break, but the Dutchman’s signings did not make an appearance. Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt were dropped following the Porto fiasco. Casemiro was on the bench, as were new arrivals Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte. The Uruguayan had only started one Premier League games before being forced to sit on the bench. It’s not ideal.

Without that glimmer of talent, United performed admirably. To be honest, a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa, who had recently defeated Bayern Munich on the same field in the Champions League, was stunning. However, it is unlikely to have aided Ten Hag’s cause. The club is failing for a variety of reasons, including an inability to ignite an offence and a lack of goal flow.

The Red Devils have had a disappointing season thus far. It’s the poorest start to a Premier League season after seven games, with Ten Hag’s side in 14th place. Will things improve? Who knows at this stage.

Believe it or not, United are doing well defensively, with Andre Onana keeping the most clean sheets in the league. They have conceded eight league goals, as many as Chelsea and Manchester City, but have only scored five, tied with Crystal Palace for the second-lowest total in the Premier League. Only Southampton (4) is worse off.

Zirkzee scored a spectacular late victory on his debut against Fulham, but the Dutch signing has had a difficult start. The striker hasn’t scored since. Rasmus Hojlund’s situation has not improved much either. The Dane did start 2024/25 wounded, but he hasn’t set the world on fire since returning. The inexperienced centre forward was significantly off the pace against Villa a week ago, making only five passes and having fewer touches than goalie Onana.

It says it all that a guy they let go years ago is now outscoring the two of them. In fact, he is outscoring the entire team this season. Enter Danny Welbeck, a cult hero.

Welbeck has played alongside some amazing players. From Wayne Rooney to Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, it’s easy to argue he was a part of a much better football squad.

However, the England international struggled to secure regular starts and eventually joined Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal for £16 million in 2014. Ten years later, he is no longer a Gunner, but he is in excellent shape.

The 33-year-old had a solid record with the north Londoners, netting 32 goals in 126 games, but a devastating broken leg injury effectively terminated his stay in the city. Welbeck eventually transferred to Watford, and now he’s in Brighton, enjoying the Indian summer.