3 players who have been disappointing for Manchester United so far | Premier League 2018/19

Manchester United's pre-season was mired with controversies with Jose Mourinho reportedly unhappy with the way the transfer market panned out for the club. He presumably wanted a central defender to add to his big list of defenders at Old Trafford, but the United board reportedly refused to back the Portuguese with any more funds.

The acquisition of Fred, Dalot and Lee Grant in the summer did little to encourage the fans and Mourinho was left to get the best out of players he had in his armor. Despite the victory against Leicester City in the opening fixture, the performance since then has been disappointing. The Red Devils are out of the League Cup after losing to a Championship side and almost out of the League title race with a twelve point difference between them and the League Leaders Manchester City.

However, a team needs big players to rise when the chips are down, but United lack that personality in the squad. There are very few players who would take responsibility for their actions rather than hide somewhere else. Jose Mourinho has got world class players in his team, but many have performed below expectations.

Here are the three players who have been disappointing so far this season.

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#3 Eric Bailly

Eric has lost the trust of the manager.

Bailly was one of the first signings of Jose Mourinho at Manchester United. Eric impressed during his time at Villareal which made Mourinho waste no time in getting the services of the Ivorian at Old Trafford.

In the initial days of his United career, Eric looked the perfect defender that any team would want to have. He was even voted Manchester United's Player of the Month in his very first month with the Red Devils.

However, injury played it's part in Bailly's downfall, and he never looked the same since then. There are glimpses of his qualities but nothing substantial to impress the manager. On top of that, the Ivorian's recklessness has often caused the team dearly.

Against Brighton, earlier in the season, Eric was at fault for United conceding three goals against Chris Hughton's side. Since then, with Smalling and Lindelof settling in as first choice center halves, Bailly is finding it hard to get a start.

#2 Alexis Sanchez

Sanchez is struggling to get back his old form.

On January 2018, when Alexis Sanchez finally decided to leave Arsenal to win trophies, there was an apparent war between the two Manchester sides to get the services of the Chilean.

Sanchez's previous stint with Pep Guardiola made Manchester City the favorites to land him from Arsenal. However, with City reluctant to include any of their players in the deal, Jose Mourinho got his man with Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the other way.

The arrival of a world class player like Sanchez instilled a sense of hope among the fans. He was Arsenal's best player and hoped to repeat the same form with the Red Devils as well. However, his performances for United has been nothing but disappointing.

Alexis has looked a mere shadow of himself and failed to improve the squad a single bit. With Antony Martial getting back to form, his chances in the first team place are visibly cut short with reports emerging that he wants to leave in January, just one year after signing for the club.

#1 Romleu Lukaku

Lukaku is struggling with injuries at the moment.

Romelu Lukaku signed for Manchester United from Everton last season at a time when the Red Devils desperately needed a target man up front. Before coming to United, Romelu was banging in goals for the Toffees and hoped to continue the same way at Old Trafford.

The Belgian impressed in his debut season scoring sixteen goals in the Premier League. He is dominant in the air which allowed the full-backs to provide quality crosses from the flanks for Romelu to head in. Apart from that, Lukaku's ball holding ability had paid dividends for Jose Mourinho's side in games when they needed to play long balls up front.

However, after performing stupendously for Belgium in the World Cup, Romelu has been miserable for the Red Devils. His first touches have let him down and he even missed a few sitters which otherwise could have changed the complexion of those games.

Jose Mourinho has been continuously playing Lukaku due to the lack of options on the bench, but it has only worsened the situation. The season is still long, and the Portuguese would be hoping that his talisman starts firing soon.