Harry Maguire’s nightmare season continued for England last night as he was sent off after just 30 minutes.
The centre-back is clearly undergoing a crisis of confidence and rather than criticising him, United fans rallied to call for Maguire to get a rest.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should have enough options to get past Newcastle this weekend without Maguire.
The next matches against PSG, Chelsea, RB Leipzig and Arsenal present a tougher decision.
Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof are capable of stepping up. The pair even partnered together away at Brighton in the Carabao Cup a fortnight ago as United kept a clean sheet and won 3-0.
But United have a few extra options too, if Maguire needs an extended spell out of the team.
Axel Tuanzebe
Axel Tuanzebe is the best positioned of these three players to step up.
The 22-year-old is finally fit again after spending most of the last year on the sidelines.
Tuanzebe has 18 first team appearances for United in total and he has had to be patient for his first game in 2020.
There is a good chance he sees action this weekend, or is at least in the matchday squad for the first time this season.
Having Tuanzebe back enables United greater freedom to give Maguire the rest it looks like he needs.
Teden Mengi
Teden Mengi will be pushing Tuanzebe all the way and the returning defender will have to outperform the 18-year-old in training sessions.
Mengi has been training with the first team for the past few months and will have been working to show Ole Gunnar Solskjaer he is ready.
The teenager performed strongly when he came on in United’s only pre-season game, and showed he is ready for senior football.
Mengi has one first team appearance so far and his next game is only a matter of time.
Marcos Rojo
If United are not quite sure about Tuanzebe or Mengi’s readiness, then Solskjaer could turn to outcast Marcos Rojo.
With Rojo you know what you are getting; a fully committed, tough tackling, give no quarter performance.
And to be totally fair to Rojo, he has never put in a performance as bad as the one Maguire delivered against Tottenham.
Rojo is not eligible for the Champions League as United did not register him, but if Solskjaer needs an extra man for Premier League action, then the Argentine is a player who can be relied upon. United are paying him after all.
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