Former Manchester United defender Paul Parker has spoken exclusively to UtdDistrict about some of Rúben Amorim’s best players this season.
Manchester United have won four of their last seven games, picking up some positive form amid the one-year anniversary of Rúben Amorim’s appointment as head coach.
The club sit seventh in the Premier League table but are level on points with Tottenham in 5th, while Sunderland are just one point ahead in 4th, and Chelsea sits 3rd, two points ahead of the Old Trafford club.
After a poor start to the season, which saw the club lose fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester City and get knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the second round against Grimsby Town, Amorim’s men appear to be finally finding a sense of cohesion and consistency.
However, goals conceded remains an issue for United. In the league, only Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City have scored more goals, but United have scored 19 and conceded 18, resulting in a goal difference of just +1.
Speaking exclusively to UtdDistrict, former United defender Paul Parker issued his thoughts on the season so far, pinpointing some of the club’s standout and underrated players so far this season.
Who have been United’s best players this season?
“[Matthijs] de Ligt, [Bryan] Mbuemo and [Amad] Diallo,” Parker said, speaking exclusively to UtdDistrict via the home of EPL odds. “Those three. De Ligt is Manchester United’s most consistent defender. He senses danger, he leads, and he’s an organiser.
“He leads by example with the way he plays as well, and he does that. He doesn’t have to come on a sub and score a goal or anything like that, or run to the fans and become a cult hero. He does his jo,b and that’s what matters.
“Amad causes confusion. People question his end product, but they might have relented a bit from the weekend. But he causes problems, and without him, United haven’t really got anybody outside of [Matheus] Cunha and Mbuemo who’s going to cause regular problems in that way.
“People will say Bruno [Fernandes] comes into it, but he’s not consistent in what he does. Mbuemo has been the most consistent player. He’s always constantly attacking, he runs at people, he looks to run beyond people, he brings people into the game, and he defends as well without being asked to.”
Who have been United’s most underrated players this season?
When asked who has been the most underrated player for United this season, UtdDistrict inquired of Parker, who played 146 times under Sir Alex Ferguson, whether new striker Benjamin Šeško fell under this category due to his work away from the two goals he has scored this season.
“We saw how much he cost Manchester United and everyone’s looking to dig him out, but they’re leaving the two Liverpool strikers [Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike] alone, who cost over £100 million,” Parker replied.
“They’re being left alone, saying there’s time, and they’re finding excuses. Are they just getting over this? Are they just getting over that? No! When you win a league, the following season is even more important because you have to go and win it again. You have to come out the blocks flying.
“But the one thing you don’t go and do, you don’t unsettle a team by going out and spending so much money.”
When prompted to assess whether new goalkeeper Senne Lammens also fits in the underrated category, Parker said: “He has been, and that’s very good. I made a point with [André] Onana, but a lot of people aren’t talking about Lammens; that tells you how well he’s doing.
“If he wasn’t doing well, everyone would be jumping on him straight away. Again, to take more pressure off of Liverpool.”
Who should United be signing in 2026?
In recent days, it has been reported that Atletico Madrid and former Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher is a possible target for United to pursue in January, following their unsuccessful attempt to sign him on loan in the summer.
Parker has mentioned Gallagher before as a player he would love to see his former club sign, and UtdDistrict asked if there were any other players whom he feels United could bring in to benefit Amorim’s system.
“No, to be honest, at this moment, I’m not greedy,” Parker replied. “I think you can’t rush it, you can’t just go and get a big clump of players.
“If you’re looking to take it forward slowly and you want to do something, you have to have something in the back end that you look to build on, you look to build on with that person coming in on loan, or you see you get someone on loan who does well, you get that calibre of player to come in, get it cemented in, then Connor is the one.
“He’s the one player I think they need. One player who plays a lot of football, doesn’t get injured often, and is willing to play. I’ve watched him many a times when he was at Palace and when he was at Chelsea and every time you see him grimacing, the lad wants to play games of football.
“If he doesn’t play, it’s a good reason. Even if he’s had a knock, he wants to play football. And I know that if he comes to Manchester United, that would be the cherry on the top.”
Who should United be looking to move on this summer?
As always in football, if a club signs new players, there must be those who are sold or loaned off to make way and make space for the fresh recruits. For United, there are multiple players whose contracts are expiring, and Parker told UtdDistrict that he feels the likes of Harry Maguire may need to leave.
“I mean, they’ve been talking about Harry Maguire, and I think it would be foolhardy of them to allow sentiment to get in the way of other players progressing,” Parker said when asked if there are players who should be heading for the exit door.
“When you’ve got [Lisandro] Martínez sitting there to come back, and then you’ve got [Ayden] Heaven, and then you’ve got [Leny] Yoro, you don’t need another centre half, especially in the way he’s playing. You don’t need Harry Maguire there, because that’s going to stop a Yoro improving.
“It’s going to stop Heaven looking to fight against a Yoro for a regular place. You need to look to the future and build, and you’re looking to build around De Ligt at the moment.
“Use his experience to pass on to those lads to then try and make a player, to try and get someone to be as good as De Ligt, as what he was at 20 years of age, playing in the Champions League semi-final. I think that’s the main one, really.
“You can’t allow sentiment to get in the way of a decision. You have to make a decision, not for that one player, but for the majority. And if it’s for the majority, Harry Maguire won’t be missed.”
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