5 players who are lucky to play for Man United

No matter how big a club is, it will always have players that are not reflections of the image the club ooze. Indeed, even the greatest clubs in the world have players who wouldn’t get a shot on a midtable team.

No, no, this article is not about that. Actually, it is, but surely, the players mentioned here will easily make it to the starting XI of any midtable tea with quite a lot of ease.

Anyways, Manchester United are the biggest club in England. It took them a lot of time and great players to get to where they are. However, after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, they haven’t been the same club as they were under him.

Part of the reason is that they have players that are below the level at which players of such a club should perform. And here are 5 such players that are lucky to play for Manchester United…

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#5 Matteo Darmian

When I remember his name, it reminds me of a Hindi song named Darmiyaan. Anyways, that’s totally pointless with the topic at hand. Matteo Darmian was one of the best right-backs in Italy before he chose to join the Red Devils.

Indeed, such was his quality at Torino that some of the biggest clubs in Italy were after him (read: Juventus). However, he chose to voyage on uncharted shores of England. The lure of playing for Manchester United is something that is hard to say no to.

However, ever since joining the Old Trafford outfit, things have gone awry for the Italian. Not that it began instantly as he started his career at Old Trafford brilliantly, earning the award of the Manchester United Player of the Month in September 2015.

A combination of injuries and managerial change put hurdles in his career as he is no longer the player he was at Torino.

#4 Marcos Rojo

Rojo had good first season with the Red Devils

It is quite astonishing that Marcos Rojo is still at the club. Actually, Manchester United signing him in itself wasn’t something that made much sense. While there is no doubt that he is a decent player, but that’s just about it.

He had a good World Cup with Argentina in 2014 and was signed for the Red Devils by Louis van Gaal right after the conclusion of the grandest tournament in the world. He did quite decently in his initial days.

However, persistent injuries have hampered his career with the Red Devils as he hasn’t been able to reach the highs of his 2014 World Cup campaign and his first season with United. And now, the Argentine is in his 4th season with the Red Devils, he is neither their first-choice left-back nor first-choice center-half.

#3 Chris Smalling

Almost 8 years and still not a starter

When Chris Smalling was signed in 2010, many hoped that he would go on to lead United’s defense for the next 10 years or so. At Fulham, he established himself as one of the best young centre-backs in the world and United the Theatre of Dreams for him to attain stardom.

However, 8 years after the signing was announced, Chris Smalling is still with the Red Devils but is far from the player that people thought he would be. Yes, he is preferred over Victor Lindelof—who, mind you, is not on this list because it is too early to label him a failure—but the defense always looks shaky with him in the backline.

He has been at Old Trafford for seven-and-a-half years and is yet not a starter at the club—that itself is an astonishing fact, to say the least.

#2 Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw hasn't lived up to the billing

It really pains me to write down his name here because I still think that he has the talent to shine, but he hasn’t been able to display that thus far. Signed from Southampton for a hefty fee as a teenager, Luke Shaw promised a lot, but like most of the players on this list, injuries have really hampered his career.

Indeed, I would go as far as claiming that had it not been for his proneness to getting injured, he would have been one of the best left-backs in the world. But the truth is that he is too injury prone to play at a club like Manchester United.

The Red Devils play about 60 games every season, so every player has to have a certain level of resistance to injuries in order to be at a top-level club like the Old Trafford outfit. However, the Englishman has missed 84 games in his three-and-a-half years’ worth of career---which means that he spend about half the time recovering from injury than actually playing.

#1 Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Mkhitaryan could be out of United

And finally, the player that you might have had in your minds by now. When Henrikh Mkhitaryan was bought by Manchester United, the fans were highly excited due to the talent of the Armenian. Indeed, the attacking midfielder was one of the best players in Germany whilst playing for Borussia Dortmund.

So what went wrong? To put it simply: Jose Mourinho.

There is little doubt that Mkhitaryan will go on to become a good player at some other club, but he is just not the player for Mourinho’s system. It is strange because Mourinho himself wanted him at the club and sanctioned his purchase, only to realize that he isn’t the player who would blossom with his demands on the Armenian’s shoulders.

As a result, it could be concluded that he is lucky to be still playing at Old Trafford.