Former Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra has urged Cristiano Ronaldo, Luke Shaw, and Harry Maguire to consider their future elsewhere after being dropped to the bench for Manchester United’s victory against Liverpool.
Harry Maguire following a poor performance against Brighton and Brentford saw him replaced by Raphael Varane in Manchester United’s starting lineup for the Liverpool game.
Luke Shaw was also replaced in the starting eleven by Tyrell Malacia for the Liverpool match.
Cristiano Ronaldo was a substitute in the game against Liverpool replacing Marcus Rashford in the second half.
The Performance of Tyrell Malacia and Raphael Varane makes it almost impossible for Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire to fight their way back into the starting line eleven.
However, Patrice Evra believes Erik Ten Hag should be credited and applauded for his team selection for the night.
What did Patrice Evra say?
Speaking as an Ambassador for Betfair, The former Manchester United left-back said: “We should give a lot of credit to Ten Hag because he’s had a tough start to the season and coming into a game against Liverpool, to make changes, even in the game, you could see that he wanted the team to score that second goal to secure the win, was really important. He’s here to stay. He needs the players and the right attitudes, but I believe in this manager.
“When you win against Liverpool you get the fans on side, and that will be a big boost for him. Now, Ten Hag will have to make decisions about the team and not think about individuality.
“I’m convinced that the starting eleven made a big difference in that win. If we started with the same players that started against Brighton and Brentford we would have definitely lost. I think Ten Hag was selfish and he was thinking about himself, he would have been saying ‘I don’t want to lose my job and I should get rid of really important players and make changes,’ and he did.”
The former French international also added that a move away from Old Trafford would benefit the trio.
“Let’s be clear, I can say people are too harsh on Harry Maguire, but he is paying the price for his transfer fee. From that day, I said he is going to have the most difficult season for United because people only looked at the price. If we bought him for £5 million, people would say he’s an amazing center-back. We all have bad games, but now we’ve got to a point where even if he has a good game people are not happy. So there’s negativity around him,” Evra explained.
“The Cristiano Ronaldo saga is another issue. Is he staying? Is he leaving? It’s created a lot of confusion with fans. He’s still here, the transfer window isn’t closed but I think, personally knowing Cristiano if he doesn’t play he would like to leave. I think this would be the best for him and for United.
“We’ve been playing Luke Shaw for so many years and I’m really careful when I talk about left-backs because I’ve been in this position and it’s not an easy position. Luke Shaw has been here for so many years and he hasn’t matched the standard set by Dennis Irwin or myself, and I think left-back is a really crucial position for United.
“Maybe it’s time for those players to go.”
