Man Utd need to sign a left-winger this summer but three players they had high hopes for have all failed to make that role their own.
Yan Diomande
Yan Diomande scored for RB Leipzig last weekend and is a player United are interested in
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Alejandro Garnacho scored last week, Marcus Rashford was back in England in midweek and Jadon Sancho will be the ghost of Old Trafford on Sunday. Three left-wingers, aged 21, 25 and 28, who all threatened to be the solution to Manchester United's issues down that flank.
Instead, they are all becoming distant memories at United. Garnacho left to join Chelsea on a permanent deal last summer. Sancho is on loan at Aston Villa but will leave when his contract expires in the summer and hasn't made a first-team appearance for the club since August 2023.
Rashford is the one who could theoretically still have a future at United, but that looks extremely unlikely. He wants to make his move to Barcelona permanent and United would be happy to bank £26million if the Catalan club take the option to sign him.
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If they don't, he will return to Old Trafford in the summer, but the priority is likely to be finding a permanent buyer. There is no prospect at the moment of Rashford returning to the fold, even if Michael Carrick were to remain in charge.
Given those departures, it is no surprise that left-wing has emerged as something of a priority position for United heading into the summer transfer window. All three of Rashford, Garnacho and Sancho had their chances to make the role their own, but for all of them it was a question of attitude and application more than talent.
Rashford is the one that might well hurt United the most, but all parties look to have accepted the reality now, that his time at his boyhood club is drawing to a close. He has shown at the Nou Camp this season that, when in the right frame of mind, he remains an excellent footballer.
The picture isn't as clear with Garnacho and Sancho. The former hasn't built on his initial burst into the United first-team and hasn't made much of an impression at Chelsea. He is still only 21 but isn't yet delivering on his talent.
For Sancho, 25, that might now never happen. He was earmarked as a right-winger when he joined United for £73million in 2021 as one of the most exciting young players in Europe. That he will leave on a free four years later sums up the drift in his career.
All three are likely to be chapters of United's past come the summer. The challenge now is to find the answer for the future. Matheus Cunha has played off the left recently but is too versatile to be stationed there every week and there will be times when a more direct winger is needed.
Patrick Dorgu impressed in Carrick's first two games, and as a left-footer, he offers something different. He could also be used as an attacking left-back and United will want a winger who is perhaps a step above Dorgu at the moment.
Yan Diomande is someone who has caught the eye in that position. The 19-year-old has impressed for RB Leipzig as a left-winger and plays that position for the Ivory Coast, with Amad on the opposite flank.
He has 11 goals and seven assists in 27 club games this season and has attracted interest from plenty of European giants, with United monitoring his situation.
But whether it is Diomande or someone else, United will hope to sign a left-winger who can stand the test of time at Old Trafford this year, having suffered more than their fair share of false dawns recently.