One glance at Man United this time last year proves Ineos are making progress on biggest problem

Add as preferred source on Google

Manchester United have made progress both on and off the pitch compared to this time last year.

That may be hard to believe given Manchester United’s rocky start to the campaign, but there are plenty of positive signs that the club is headed in the right direction this season.

The emphatic 7-0 result against Barnsley was Erik ten Hag’s biggest win as United manager. A strong result against League One opposition is nothing to get carried away with, but United showed a clear style of play which is promising for the future.

Not only are there signs of progression on the pitch, but there is also plenty to like off it too, especially when it comes to injury news.

Rasmus Hojlund and Mason Mount have returned to training, and Ten Hag also issued a positive update on Luke Shaw’s progress.

Victor Lindelof is also nearing a return, which means Tyrell Malacia and Leny Yoro will be the only two players unavailable through injury. That is a huge upgrade on where the club were with injuries this time last year.

Man United making progress on injury issues

Cast your mind back 12 months to the day and United had lost three of their opening five Premier League matches and were preparing to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League – a game they went on to lose 4-3.

United’s injury list ahead of the Bayern match was alarming. Raphael Varane, Mason Mount, Sofyan Amrabat, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw, Amad Diallo and Tyrell Malacia were all out injured.

Jadon Sancho and Antony were also unavailable because of personal reasons, which left Ten Hag with very few options as United’s Champions League campaign kicked off.

In contrast, Ten Hag will have an abundance of options for United’s trip to face Crystal Palace on Saturday. He may even face several selection headaches for the first time in a long while.

Noussair Mazraoui, Lisandro Martinez, and Matthijs de Ligt came off vs Southampton and it looked as though United’s injury problems would continue, but Ten Hag has confirmed that the trio are “all available”.

Manchester United headed in the right direction under Ineos

Despite the losses to Brighton and Liverpool this season, there is an overwhelming feeling that things are headed in the right direction at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag is finally getting the backing of a well-run board who are putting football above anything else, and slowly we are starting to see results.

READ MORE: Erik ten Hag’s new dilemma could be bad news for Man Utd summer signing, his toughest choice yet

It will still require patience and there are bound to be more bumps in the road, but almost everything seems to be on an upward trajectory at the club.

Ineos deserve credit for their fantastic recruitment, with the five major signings this summer giving Ten Hag quality options in every position across the pitch.

After dominant displays against Southampton and Barnsley, hopefully United can kick on and put a good run together.