Manchester United: Grading The Squad For 2017/18

Victor Lindelof

Not a great season for either player

Lindelof didn't exactly have a terrible season. He did start off on the wrong foot but then he really did seem to grow into his senses. But the fault lays in the fact that he still hasn't been able to integrate himself into this Manchester United side. And I'll tell you why he's been given this rating.

Chris Smalling could be playing 'passing the parcel' and he wouldn't know what to do with the parcel if he's got it. Lindelof is a great distributor of the ball. He is good in the tackle and has the size to dominate in the air. Yet, save the odd day and Lindelof has almost always been disappointing.

He hasn't been dominant in the air, has looked shaky at the back and in the absence of Eric Bailly, he failed to step up and nail down a spot. I mean, Chris Smalling and Phil Jonesey got the nod ahead of you, lad. Shape up.

Matteo Darmian

Darmian's time at Old Trafford may have run out

The less that's said, the better. The Italian, in his first season, looked like he could go on to become the best right-back in the league. And then one day, Arsenal came and dismantled him and he hasn't been the same since. And two years have passed.

Darmian proved to be a poor deputy for the ageing Antonio Valencia who still looks sharper, faster and more precise with the ball at his feet than his Italian counterpart. 0 goals, 0 assists. Abysmal crossing skills and poor discipline. Grade D.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Shruti Sadbhav