Marcel Sabitzer names three crucial dressing room leaders at Manchester United

Marcel Sabitzer reckons Manchester United's struggles this season have been, in large part, down to the absence of the squad's three leaders.

The Austrian international spent the second half of last campaign on loan at Old Trafford as Erik ten Hag's side won the Carabao Cup and qualified for the Champions League.

Unfortunately for the former RB Leipzig midfielder, his on-field performances did not merit a permanent move, instead he found himself at Borussia Dortmund via parent club Bayern Munich.

United have gone on to suffer an incredibly slow start to the new campaign that has seen their Dutch manager come under huge pressure and several of last season's top performers called into question.

Sabitzer gave his opinion on the recent woes but was keen to talk up the former Ajax manager currently at the helm of the club.

'I feel very positive about my time there and still talk to a couple of people,’ he told The Athletic. ‘You ask yourself, ‘what’s going on?’ There’s a lot of noise, results are not good, they’ve had defeats at home, which almost felt unthinkable last season.

'And there’s still the unresolved situation of the ownership. You can see what that does to a team.

'I feel sorry for them because they’re all good guys, and extremely hungry for success. Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez – they are leaders that provide structure and stability to the team.

‘Erik ten Hag comes with up very specific match plans and patterns of play. But if you have too many important players missing and too many changes as a result, things get lost between the tactics board and the pitch. The rhythm of players coming isn’t right, processes aren’t right.

‘In the Premier League and Champions League, you need your best players available.