Owen Hargreaves says 2 Man United players need to step up for upcoming period

Owen Hargreaves believes that certain Manchester United players need to step up for the upcoming period of the season.

United progressed to the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday after victory against Real Betis.

Casemiro played an important role in the win after assisting Marcus Rashford for the only goal of the game.

However, the Brazilian midfielder will be out of action for United’s upcoming four domestic fixtures following his red card against Southampton on the weekend. Hargreaves detailed Casemiro’s importance for The Reds this term.

“They’ve not performed very well without him when he’s not playing – a win percentage of 76% with him and only 43% without him,” he explained on BT Sport.

That will mean Erik ten Hag will be without his two favoured midfield players in Christian Eriksen and Casemiro. The Dane suffered an ankle injury in January but will return to action later this season, as confirmed by the manager.

With an important time of the season coming up, Hargreaves believes that both Scott McTominay and Marcel Sabitzer need to step up in order to help Ten Hag’s midfield conundrum.

“It’s a big opportunity [for] Sabitzer, he’s a good player but he can play multiple positions – but he needs to nail down one,” continued the former United midfielder.

“I think for Scott McTominay as well, he’s been a great squad player for United and it’s a big opportunity for him.

“You need somebody to step up. In the teams we had, we always had players like Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Ji-sung Park, Darren Fletcher – all these guys stepped up in big moments we needed them to.

“United need it right now and someone needs to be there.”

Meanwhile, Paul Scholes suggested that Harry Kane will not make the move to Old Trafford despite rumours that United could look to prise him away from Tottenham Hotspur’s grasp.

“I don’t think Kane will move from Tottenham at this point,” Scholes told BT Sport.

“I think it’s tricky business dealing with Daniel Levy, he could string you on right to the very last minute of the transfer window and leave you with nothing.

“I think there are other players out there, like Osimhen. I haven’t seen loads of him, but I see him as more of a [Didier] Drogba type, possibly more of a Chelsea-type centre-forward.

“I like Lautaro Martinez at Inter Milan. I think he’s Ten Hag’s type of player. He likes a centre-forward who will run about, be aggressive, get against people. There are options.

“I like Manchester United’s centre-forwards as they are. I like Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial. We all know the quality they’ve got. There are options out there and let’s hope we can bring one in.”