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After Manchester United’s dismal start to the Premier League season continued against Aston Villa, Wayne Rooney spoke out on what he feels has gone wrong at Old Trafford.

The former Red Devils captain burst onto the scene when the likes of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher, Wes Brown, John O’Shea and more were all earning a living under Sir Alex Ferguson.

20 years on from his famous Manchester United debut against Fenerbahce in the Champions League, Rooney tells talkSPORT that this Erik ten Hag-led team is one searching for an ‘identity’.

Lacking a ‘good core of British players’. The sort of which provided the backbone for so many successful seasons in the Ferguson era.

Rooney’s former Man United team-mate Rio Ferdinand was left drawing similar conclusions after Ten Hag’s team held onto a creditable if uninspiring 0-0 draw at Villa Park.

Rio Ferdinand can’t believe Manchester United ever sold Jonny Evans

The peerless performance of a 36-year-old Jonny Evans at centre-half certainly left a bittersweet feeling.

Ferdinand, on one hand, is delighted to see the veteran centre-back roll back the years. On the other, he cannot help but feel Man United shot themselves in the foot when selling Evans to West Brom for just £6 million back in 2015.

Because, while Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Eric Bailly and co would struggle for fitness and form in the Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho eras, Evans would blossom into one of the most reliable centre-halves in the Premier League first at the Hawthorns and then at Leicester City.

It’s telling that, just four years after Van Gaal sold him to West Brom, City Pep Guardiola came ‘close‘ to luring Evans back to Manchester.

“He should’ve had another 12 years probably at Man United!” Ferdinand said in conversation with the aforementioned Jones after Evans secured the Man of the Match award at Villa Park

“As soon as they sold him, I said; ‘Woah, who sanctioned this?’ He’s arguably your best defender, experienced as well. He’s experienced more than you and Chris Smalling.

“I was like; ‘You can’t let him go!’

“He understands the fabric of the club, and if you’re thinking about keeping a culture you need people who know, who’ve been there and grown up at the club.”

Jonny Evans ‘masterclass’ helps stop the rot at Man United

At a time in which almost every decision Erik ten Hag makes comes under such intense levels of scrutiny, the Dutchman deserves credit for the changes made to Man United’s backline at Villa.

After Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt were beaten three times apiece by Tottenham and FC Porto – Andre Onana saved Man United from further humiliation in both games – a throwback partnership of Evans and former Leicester teammate Harry Maguire kept Aston Villa out.

“ in the right position on time,” Graham Potter, the former Brighton boss so frequently linked with the Man United job of late, said on Match of the Day.

“For any young defenders watching, this was almost a masterclass in how to use your strengths and combat what the opponent can do to you.”

Evans returned to Man United initially on a short-term deal in the summer of 2023.

An injury crisis saw the former Sunderland loanee feature 30 times that campaign, however, while earning a contract extension until 2025.

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