Manchester United midfielder Fred has hit back at what he described as "fake news" amid reports of dressing-room unrest at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils' meek performance in the 1-0 home defeat to Wolves last Monday, their first loss under interim manager Ralf Rangnick, resulted in widespread speculation over the futures of several first-team players.

It has been claimed as many as 17 United players are considering leaving the club, either this month or at the end of the season, with standards falling significantly short of expectation.

Fred's name appeared in some of the reports, with the 28-year-old having only played a minute of his side's previous two league matches despite scoring the winning goal against Crystal Palace at the beginning of Rangnick's tenure.

However, the Brazil international said there was no truth to the rumours he is unhappy at the club.

He wrote on social media: "Over the past few days I have read several fake news involving my name and other MUFC athletes. I'm not in the habit of answering controversial stuff publicly, but this time I will have to.

"I just want to say that I am very happy here and I have never expressed any dissatisfaction and the possibility of leaving the club. Don't get misled by fake news. We will continue to work with great dedication to pursue our goals."

Fred has played 19 times in all competitions in 2021-22, scoring twice.

United are seventh in the Premier League table after 19 games, having already lost six times in the top flight this term, and they face a tricky FA Cup third-round match with Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Monday.

Ralf Rangnick has told his Manchester United players to prove they care and are not reverting to their bad old ways.

The interim manager demanded "passion, emotion and intensity" ahead of Monday's FA Cup third-round home clash with Aston Villa, and admitted there are players who are unhappy within the Red Devils' ranks.

A dismal Premier League home defeat to Wolves halted early progress during Rangnick's reign, and the German boss said on Friday said it was "a step back... maybe a relapse".

Rangnick inherited the job from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the club legend who was sacked once it became clear he could not get the best from United's talented and costly set of players.

Now that is the challenge for the experienced former RB Leipzig boss, and he has demanded the co-operation of the squad as a whole.

"We have made some progress, but obviously the game against Wolves was a step back, maybe even a relapse to habits the team has shown in the past," Rangnick said in a news conference.

"We need to insist and emphasise every time that we have to work together."

He repeatedly pointed to finding a balance between defence and attack, and called for a collective, fiery effort.

"We need to do it with passion, with emotion, with intensity," Rangnick said.

"This was the problem against Wolves, especially in the first half where we were only escorting them. It was only David de Gea who objected to them going easily to our goal."

Wolves had 15 shots before half-time in Monday's Premier League game, the most attempts any visiting team has had at Old Trafford in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League game since at least 2003-04, Opta said.

Rangnick said a "different performance" was imperative for the Villa game, and said he was confident his players were making an effort to buy into his methods.

"They're at least trying, I'm sure that they are listening," he said. "We need to and want to work with the players we have.

"We've showed we can keep clean sheets, but it's also about what we are doing with the ball and without the ball. Once we have the ball it's about responsible decision-making, making the right decision at the right moment."

Villa have lost their last six FA Cup matches, their longest ever losing run in the competition, while United have won their last nine home games in the tournament by an aggregate score of 20-2.

They are unbeaten in their last 11 at Old Trafford in the FA Cup since a 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Arsenal in 2014-15.

Yet Villa have won in the league at United's home this season, so Rangnick is on guard.

History tells us there have been only three occasions of a team winning twice away at United in the same season – Chelsea in 2004-05, Tottenham in 1989-90 and Villa themselves in 1919-20. Villa, now bossed by former Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard, would love to repeat the feat.

There have been rumours of discontent in the United dressing room, often centring around Cristiano Ronaldo, with speculation he might be unhappy or that others are disenchanted with his status.

How true any of that might be is unclear, and Rangnick says there are always bound to be players who become fed up.

"This is not only an issue with a club like Manchester United. If you have that many players and only 10 outfield players can play and three be substituted [onto the pitch], you have quite a number of players, in our case, 12, 13, 14 players who don't even play or don't even get in the squad," he said.

"Those players are not happy about that situation, it's obvious and it is clear. I tend to explain to players every two or three weeks why they are not playing, but obviously I can't do that in every game."

Some may move on during this transfer window or at the season's end.

"We have players with contracts expiring in the summer, maybe also one or two others who still want to leave, although they're on contract," Rangnick said.

"It's about the players to deal with that situation in a professional way. If I realise that is not the case I will address that to the players directly.

"Everybody has the chance and option in training to show up and get the chance to play. If this is not the case, the players together with the club and agents need to discuss the situation."

Ralf Rangnick's start at Manchester United has been rather underwhelming.

There have been reports this week that stars in the United dressing room have not fully taken to the German, who was appointed as interim manager in the wake of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal.

United plan to move Rangnick into a consultancy role after his short spell in charge of the team, with a new, permanent manager their target ahead of next season.

However, whoever the club picks must reportedly gain the approval of Cristiano Ronaldo.

TOP STORY – RONALDO'S UNITED RETURN TO COME TO AN END?

United need to get their next appointment right, with Mauricio Pochettino supposedly high on their list of targets.

Yet another factor in the decision seems set to be the feelings of Ronaldo, who may yet have input in the appointment.

According to the Daily Star, Ronaldo could cut short his second stint at Old Trafford should he disagree with the club's managerial selection.

ROUND-UP

- Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves is Manchester United's top transfer priority in January, according to Fichajes.

- Liverpool have declined a £7million bid from an unspecified Premier League club for defender Nathaniel Phillips, according to the Daily Mail.

- The Sun, meanwhile, claims Liverpool are moving in on a £60million deal for Porto's Luis Diaz. The Colombia winger was close to joining Everton in August.

- Sky Sports says Newcastle United want to buy Norwich City midfielder Todd Cantwell.

- Fabrizio Romano has reported that Manchester United are not interested in signing River Plate's young striker Julian Alvarez in this window.

Premier League managers are already feeling the strain amid cascading numbers of COVID-19 cases and mid-season injuries. Now many top bosses stand to lose stars to the Africa Cup of Nations.

Africa's greatest football show – now commonly known as AFCON – gets under way on Sunday in Cameroon.

Although the 2019 edition was held in June and July, it has historically been a January-into-February tournament and has returned to that place on the calendar.

A host of Premier League big names are hoping to make an impact during the four-week tournament, which falls slap-bang in the middle of European club campaigns, causing a major clash of competitions.

Premier League clubs certainly cannot complain of a lack of fair warning. It was June 2020 when African football chiefs decided the 2021 edition of the tournament would have to be pushed back by 12 months to a January 2022 start, in the hope the coronavirus crisis would have eased.

Here, Stats Perform takes a look at which teams from the English top flight might feel its impact the most.

Can Reds cling on in title battle?

If Liverpool lose no further ground on leaders Manchester City by the time their stars return from AFCON, then Jurgen Klopp would surely settle for that.

The 2019-20 Premier League champions have taken two points from a possible nine to leave the title as effectively City's to lose, and now Klopp is going to have to get by without Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita.

Egyptian striker Salah is the Premier League's leader in goals (16) and assists (9, level with Trent Alexander Arnold) so far this season. He has taken 80 shots in 20 games (38 of these have hit the target), played 12 throughballs and created 40 chances from open play: in each of those categories he is at the top of the Premier League charts for players defined by Opta as forwards.

How do you cope without such a contribution? Having Mane on hand would help, but Mane will be turning out for Senegal, a team who, like Salah's Egypt, are firmly in the mix as serious trophy contenders. Don't expect either back at the end of the group stage.

Mane has eight Premier League goals this term, including the opener at Chelsea recently. That goal return puts Mane joint-second among African scorers in the Premier League this season, level with Watford's Emmanuel Dennis, who is not in Nigeria's squad.

Mane has played 19 throughballs and has made 23 tackles to boot, which is the seventh highest number of tackles by a forward in the league this season, a rarely mentioned attribute of his game. He does not always tackle with his elbow, either.

Keita will presumably be less of a miss, with the Guinean's Anfield contribution remaining underwhelming, but Liverpool have been so hard hit by absentees recently that to lose anybody for up to five weeks is an inconvenience.

They are at least assured of Joel Matip's presence this month. The centre-back last played for Cameroon in 2015 and has retired from international duty. That is bad news for the AFCON hosts but helps Liverpool, given Matip remains a sturdy presence, with a duel success of 69.47 per cent this season ranking him third among Premier League defenders with 10 or more appearances, and a passing accuracy of 88.89 per cent putting him eighth in that metric.

Liverpool only have two league games inked in between now and the end of AFCON, against Brentford and Crystal Palace, but the Reds also have two postponed fixtures to be slipped in somewhere along the line.

Wintertime Blues?

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City hold a 10-point lead over second-placed Chelsea, with Liverpool a point further back but possessing a game in hand on the top two. Reigning champions City have won 11 straight Premier League games and the Citizens have the resources to be able to cope with the short-term loss of Riyad Mahrez, who will captain Algeria.

Mahrez's six goals and four assists this season have come at a startling rate. Given the depth in City's squad, he does not always start, so to appreciate his contribution it is worth looking at his numbers per 90 minutes on the pitch.

The former Leicester City forward is averaging 0.64 goals and 0.43 assists per 90 minutes – impressively close to Salah's return of 0.81 and 0.45 in those categories – and is one of only four Premier League players with 10 or more appearances to average at least 1.00 goal involvements per 90 (Michael Olise 1.43, Salah 1.26, Roberto Firmino 1.24, Mahrez 1.07).

The Blues of Chelsea may have concerns over the absence of goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, given the Senegalese's stabilising influence at the back. His save percentage of 77.14 has only been beaten this season in the league by Wolves' Jose Sa (80.82) and Arsenal's Aaron Ramsdale (77.46).

Spaniard Kepa Arrizabalaga struggled in the early stages of his Chelsea career and is now the undoubted understudy.

Yet Kepa's form when given an opportunity this season has not given such cause for concern. The former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper has been chiefly used in cup action, and he has achieved a remarkable save percentage of 81.48, suggesting that for a short run of games, he could be a perfectly able deputy.

Can an exodus to Africa affect the race for Europe?

Will fourth-placed Arsenal miss Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang? It seems unlikely now, given he was dropped and stripped of the captaincy after a disciplinary breach before heading off to join Gabon. He has not played for a month. The Gunners won five games in a row without him, including four in the league, before being unlucky to lose to Manchester City.

Cold facts tell us Arsenal have a points average of 1.9 per Premier League game when Aubameyang has started games this season, and 1.5 when he has been either a substitute or out of the team, but those figures may not be significant given the momentum Mikel Arteta's players have built in the recent absence of the 32-year-old. His continuing exile from the first team seems unlikely to cause much consternation.

For manager Arteta to lose Thomas Partey (Ghana) at this point is a blow though, with the former Atletico Madrid player having been excellent in the 2-1 defeat to City, having been slowly building up to such a performance. He had more touches, won more duels, made more tackles and played more successful passes than any other Arsenal player.

Arsenal have a big derby at Tottenham coming up on January 16, and they might feel Partey's absence that day, particularly given Spurs, who currently sit sixth, are sending no current first-teamers away to AFCON.

Splitting the north London rivals for now are West Ham, in fifth, and it will surely have hurt David Moyes to wave off Said Benrahma for a month of Algeria duty. The playmaker has five goals and four assists in the league this season, as well as making 83 ball recoveries and creating 21 chances in open play. That makes him one of only 13 players in the competition to top both 80 recoveries and 20 open-play chances created, and one of only five Premier League stars to tick both boxes and score at least five times. Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha, away with Ivory Coast, is another member of that small group.

Seventh-placed Manchester United will lose Eric Bailly to Ivory Coast too. But with Phil Jones back in the first team, will Bailly be missed? The former Villarreal centre-back has played just 217 minutes in the Premier League this season. United youth prospect Hannibal Mejbri is also away, in his case with Tunisia.

Further into mid-table, Wolves must find an alternative to the excellent Romain Saiss (tackle success rate 72.73 per cent) on the left side of their defence, after he joined up with Morocco. Brighton and Hove Albion powerhouse Yves Bissouma has the highest tackle success rate among midfielders to have made more than 40 such challenges in the Premier League this season (50 attempted, 35 won: 70 per cent hit rate) and he will line up for Mali after ending an international exile.

Leicester City sent away striker Kelechi Iheanacho (2 goals, 4 assists this season) for Nigeria service at a bad time for the Foxes, given injured Jamie Vardy faces several weeks out of action.

Palace are firmly in favour of players heading away to represent their countries, but the Eagles never particularly like to be without Zaha (5 goals, 1 assist, 86 dribbles). Since his return from Manchester United in August 2014, Palace have averaged 1.2 points and a 32.9 per cent win percentage with Zaha in their starting line-up, and 0.9 points and a 24.5 win percentage when he has not been in that matchday XI. The loss of Cheikhou Kouyate (80.56 per cent success rate from 36 tackles) to Senegal duty may also diminish the sturdiness of Patrick Vieira's Eagles spine.

Can Clarets cope without Cornet?

The relegation scrap seems more likely to be affected by transfer market activity than departures to AFCON.

Newcastle United and Norwich City, the league's bottom two, are sending nobody away, while fourth-bottom Watford have kept Dennis (8 goals, 5 assists) and it remains to be seen what happens to Ismaila Sarr (5 goals), who has been absent with injury of late but has headed for checks with Senegal doctors.

Burnley, who sit 18th, are seemingly the team to watch carefully here. Maxwel Cornet, now away with Ivory Coast, has scored six Premier League goals from just 10 shots on target, and Sean Dyche must find a way to make the Clarets impactful without the former Lyon man.

Richard Arnold will take over as chief executive of Manchester United next month and Ed Woodward will leave the Premier League club on February 1.

Arnold, previously United's managing director, is to start his new role at the beginning of February.

Woodward was due to step down at the end of 2021, but the long-serving executive vice-chairman is now set to depart a month later.

Arnold said: "I am honoured to have the chance to serve this great club and its fans. I am determined to return that honour in any way I can."

United executive co-chairman Joel Glazer said: "I would like to thank Ed for his tireless work on behalf of Manchester United during his nine years as executive vice-chairman and 16 years with the club. 

"We are now looking forward to Richard and his leadership team opening a new phase in the club's evolution, with ambitious plans for investment in Old Trafford, the strengthening of our engagement with fans, and continued drive towards our most important objective – winning on the pitch."

It has been all change at United in recent months, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sacked in November and Ralf Rangnick installed as interim boss.

The Red Devils are seventh in the Premier League after slumping to a 1-0 defeat against Wolves at Old Trafford in their first game of the year on Monday.

The Premier League has confirmed rearranged dates for three fixtures that were postponed over the festive period.

In total, 18 matches were postponed over Christmas as rising coronavirus cases at clubs across the league led to large-scale disruption.

The issues have continued into the new year, with the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Arsenal having to be pushed back, while the Reds' FA Cup clash with Shrewsbury Town this weekend is also in doubt.

Three top-flight games were rearranged last week, with Southampton versus Brentford, Everton versus Leicester City and West Ham versus Norwich City to be played on January 11 and 12.

Now, three more games have been confirmed to be taking place the following week, including fixtures for Manchester United and Tottenham.

Brentford host United on January 19, while Leicester and Spurs face each other in the day's other fixture.

January 18 sees Burnley host Watford and Chelsea visit Brighton and Hove Albion.

The latter game was set to take place in February, but has had to be moved forward due to the Blues' participation in the FIFA Club World Cup. The teams drew 1-1 at Stamford Bridge on December 29.

Arsenal's match with Burnley that was planned for Saturday, January 22 has now been pushed back to January 23, with the Gunners set to play Liverpool in the rearranged EFL Cup fixture on January 20.

Aaron Ramsey has not had the best of times since moving to Juventus.

The Wales midfielder joined Juve from Arsenal in 2019 on a four-year deal.

Ramsey has only managed 70 appearances in an injury hit two and a half years with Juventus.

TOP STORY – RAMSEY TO LEAVE JUVENTUS IN JANUARY

Aaron Ramsey is set to exit Juventus in the January transfer window, reports Sky Sports.

Italian transfer supremo Gianluca Di Marzio claimed that Ramsey is likely to return to the Premier League, having already turned down an offer from Burnley .

Newcastle United have been linked with Ramsey, along with Everton.

ROUND-UP

- Bayern Munich will consider swapping Kingsley Coman with Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele in the off-season, reports L'Equipe. Coman's contract expires in 2023 and negotiations on a new deal have stalled.

- Sky Sports have reported that Newcastle are contemplating a bid for Lucas Digne. The full-back is set to leave Everton this month after a falling out with Rafael Benitez, though supposedly prefers a move to London, with Chelsea and West Ham also said to be interested.

- Everton, meanwhile, hold an interest in Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff and have already made a bid, according to the Daily Mail and Sky Sports.

- Paris Saint-Germain may look to sign Lyon's Lucas Paqueta next off-season, so say L'Equipe.

- Manchester United are determined to secure Wolves' Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves in January, according to The Sun.

- Lazio have opened talks with Liverpool on a deal for Belgium international forward Divock Origi, claims LazioNews24.

- According to Sky Sports, five Premier League clubs have held talks with Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho.

Wolves coach Bruno Lage casually and clinically detailed how his team exploited Manchester United's incoherent pressing to outsmart them in Monday's 1-0 win.

United were dominated for large periods by Lage's visitors on Monday, before 35-year-old Joao Moutinho became the oldest visiting player to score a winning Premier League goal at Old Trafford to condemn Ralf Rangnick to the first loss of his reign.

But from United's perspective, it was the manner of the defeat that was so perplexing – while the Red Devils were only marginally beaten in terms of expected goals (0.83 to 0.79), Wolves' greater control and incisiveness allowed them 19 shots to nine, their six on target being three times as many as Rangnick's team.

Arguably just as important as United's ineffectiveness in attack was their lack of cohesion off the ball, with Lage seemingly predicting how the hosts would try to press.

Since Rangnick's appointment there has been much focus on United's style of play when not in possession, though prior to Monday's defeat their high turnover frequency has remained practically the same as it was under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick, improving fractionally to 7.75 per game from 7.57.

Generally they are no more effective in this regard than before and, against Wolves, there was precious little coordination from those in attack when looking to win the ball back, with Mason Greenwood, Edinson Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho engaging in just three tackle attempts between them.

Wolves' setup seemed to play into that.

"It's not about [exploiting] weakness," Lage told Sky Sports. "We try to understand the spaces they will give. The way they press, we prepared to try and understand, when we have the ball we try to understand which men will be free.

"It can be whoever is free, one of the centre-backs free, or if they come and press three against three like they did with Cavani, the spaces will be outside.

"That's why today we try to find Nelson Semedo and Marcal, and they come inside to play and then we play against six men: the defensive line and the two midfielders.

"When we arrive there it's important to keep the ball, get the opponent running. Top teams, sometimes they have more problems when they don't have the ball. If you spend more time with the ball, we will find our space and create chances.

"Manchester United changed their system a bit, but when you look in the end the way we pressed, controlled the game, the chances we created, we deserved the three points.

"When you are in the game you don't think about [conceding], we had that chance with [Romain] Saiss when he hit the bar, it was balanced.

"This is football, sometimes we have games like the first Manchester United game at home we create a lot of chances, we had one chance with Saiss in the corner and we miss and after that they score.

"I'm thinking of trying to win the game, that's why I put Fabio Silva in the game because at that moment I felt we could win the game. We played with a big personality, we created more chances than them, we had more of the ball than them, we deserved to win."

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw launched a passionate appraisal of the "phenomenal" Phil Jones after he made his first appearance in almost two years during the 1-0 defeat to Wolves on Monday.

Jones last started a top-flight game against Burnley in January 2020 but injuries to Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly, along with COVID-19 complications for Victor Lindelof, left United short in defence.

The 712 days between Premier League games for Jones is the longest gap any player who has not left the club – including loan spells – has had between appearances for the Red Devils in the competition.

The former Blackburn Rovers defender, who missed the entire 2020-21 season through injury, had been an unused substitute in five league games this campaign, but was in from the start against Wolves alongside Raphael Varane.

United were insipid in their first defeat under Ralf Rangnick, but Jones can at least hold his head high after a solid display.

His 90 per cent passing accuracy was higher than any other starter on the pitch, while he also had the best duels success rate among United players (87.5 per cent).

His tally of three tackles was not bettered by any of his team-mates and he made two more blocks than any player from either side (three).

Jones has been ridiculed at points during his time on the sidelines, with many questioning why he has not moved on, but Shaw says it is about time his team-mate was given some respect.

"Phil Jones can be proud of himself," the England international told Sky Sports.

"He's been ridiculed for a number of years, constantly. People are always getting at him and he's stuck by it. He's so professional and has tried so hard and he got his reward tonight.

"He was out for a year and this was his first big game back. He was exceptional. Obviously I'm very happy for him after what he's been through. He's a good lad and he deserves it."

Joao Moutinho's late winner at Old Trafford meant United have lost their opening league match in two of the last three calendar years – before that, they had only been defeated twice in 23 matches at the start of a year.

It was the visitors' first away league win against United since February 1980, ending a run of 10 visits to Old Trafford without a victory (D3 L7).

Luke Shaw felt Manchester United were not "all together" in their defeat to Wolves, while he suggested his side having quality is not always enough to succeed.

United saw their undefeated start under interim manager Ralf Rangnick abruptly end on Monday as Joao Moutinho, aged 35 and 117 days, became the oldest player to score a winning Premier League goal at Old Trafford in a 1-0 victory for Wolves.

The defeat leaves United four points adrift of Arsenal in the final Champions League spot after failing to score in a fourth different home league game this season, already more than they did in the whole 2020-21 campaign (three).

And Shaw bemoaned his side's performance as he questioned the team's togetherness, explaining that the quality within the camp will only get Rangnick's side so far.

He told Sky Sports after the game: "It was not good enough, we really struggled, we couldn't get hold of the ball and when we didn't have the ball we weren't aggressive enough. We didn't put them under any pressure.

"It maybe looked like an easy game for them. A disappointing performance and result. We didn't have many options on the ball and we weren't on the front foot.

"We have to put more pressure on them, we have to have intensity. Us players, we have been here a long time, maybe tonight we struggled, I didn't think we were all there together. 

"You look at the players we have, we have unbelievable quality but sometimes quality is not enough.

"We need to bring the intensity and more motivation. Inside the dressing room, we know what we want but out on the pitch we need to give 100 per cent. To win these types of games we all need to be 100% committed. It is tough and disappointing."

United will look to right some of their wrongs and get their campaign back on track when they face Aston Villa on January 15 in their next league game – five days after facing them in the FA Cup.

Ralf Rangnick is demanding improvement from Manchester United as he acknowledged deserved victors Wolves were the best team his side have faced.

United were dominated for large periods by Bruno Lage's visitors on Monday, before 35-year-old Joao Moutinho became the oldest visiting player to score a winning Premier League goal at Old Trafford to condemn Ralf Rangnick to the first loss of his reign.

Wolves' first away league win against United since February 1980, ending a 10-game winless run in the stadium, leaves them just three points behind the seventh-placed Red Devils.

United have failed to score in four different top-flight home games this season, already more than they did in the whole of 2020-21 (three), and Rangnick was disappointed with his team's quality up top as he praised Lage's side.

He told Sky Sports: "We didn't play well at all individually or collectively. In the first half, we had big problems keeping them away from our goal.

"The goal we conceded, we had enough players in the box. The cross had been defended by [Phil] Jones but the goal we conceded was like too many this season.

"Moutinho could shoot unmarked with no problems, no pressure. We're very disappointed about the result and parts of our performance.

"We decided to change our formation and we had more control – they didn't have as many chances, but we missed our chances and we have to admit they deserved to win. Wolves were the best team we've played. We have more problems today than in other games."

Rangnick arrived in Manchester with a reputation for his 'gegenpressing' style, but he was left disappointed by United's off-the-ball intensity all over the pitch. 

"We didn't press at all," he added. "We tried but we were not able to get into those pressing situations. They had an overload in midfield and they played via their wing-backs. 

"We've been only working two and a half or three weeks after needing to close the training centre. We had the results. At times we played well but today we have to admit they're better than us.

"The game showed we still have a lot of work to do. We had too many unforced errors. I don’t want to speak about individual performances of players. It's an issue of the whole team. It doesn't make sense [to talk about individuals].

"We have to see each individual game. So far we had 10 out of 12 points. Today we had our first defeat against a good team. They don't score that many goals but they scored the only goal [and] the question was who will score the first goal."

The defeat leaves United four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, whom they boast a game in hand over, with their next league fixture coming against Aston Villa on January 15.

Joao Moutinho's late strike downed an insipid Manchester United as Wolves recorded a 1-0 win in the Premier League on Monday.

Wolves had not played since December 19 due to COVID-19 issues but dominated the opening proceedings at Old Trafford, United only holding on thanks to David de Gea repeatedly thwarting Bruno Lage's side.

Substitute Bruno Fernandes and Roman Saiss traded second-half strikes against the woodwork, either side of Cristiano Ronaldo – stand-in captain in the absence of Harry Maguire – seeing a goal ruled out for offside.

Moutinho then struck with eight minutes remaining to condemn Ralf Rangnick to his first defeat in charge of the Red Devils, who sit seventh in the league – four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.

Wolves had not scored in their last 13 league games against United, dating back to 2004, but pinned back Rangnick's languid side for much of the first half.

Daniel Podence twice forced smart stops from De Gea, while the Spain international produced an expert save to tip over Ruben Neves' thunderous volley as Lage's side headed in at the break with nothing to show for their efforts.

United picked up the pace after the interval, Fernandes slamming onto the crossbar following Nemanja Matic's cross before teeing up Ronaldo's header past Jose Sa, which was disallowed for offside.

Saiss curled a free-kick against the woodwork, with Moutinho then delivering the decisive strike as he fired into the bottom-left corner. 

Jose Sa kept out Fernandes' stoppage-time free-kick as Lage's side played out an eighth straight league game with less than one goal scored in it.

Phil Jones will make his first Premier League start in two years for Manchester United, while Bruno Fernandes was left on the bench for the visit of Wolves.

Jones last started a top-flight game against Burnley in January 2020 but injury issues with Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly, along with COVID-19 complications for Victor Lindelof, have left United short-handed in defence.

The 712 days between games for Jones is the longest gap any player who has not left the club - including loan spells - has had between appearances for the Red Devils in the competition.

The former Blackburn defender, who missed the entire 2020-21 season, has been an unused substitute in five league games this campaign, though he will join Raphael Varane at the back on Monday.

Further forward, Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood will operate in behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani, meaning Fernandes is left among the substitutes for the clash with Bruno Lage's side.

The Portugal international was absent from the 3-1 win over Burnley last Thursday due to suspension, after he and compatriot Ronaldo came into criticism from Sky pundit Gary Neville for their body language during a disappointing 1-1 draw at Newcastle.

Fernandes was an integral figure in propelling United to Champions League qualification last campaign as he netted 28 times in all competitions. 

That was the best return by a midfielder for a Premier League club in a single campaign, surpassing Frank Lampard's 27 for Chelsea in 2009-10, but he has failed to hit those lofty heights this term with five top-flight goals to his name so far.

Wolves make two changes as Francisco Trincao and Nelson Semedo come into the starting line-up, while Adama Traore starts on the bench for the visitors.

TEAMS

Manchester United: David de Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic, Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho, Edinson Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo. Subs: Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Fred, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Dean Henderson, Alex Telles, Donny van de Beek, Anthony Elanga.

Wolves: Jose Sa, Max Kilman, Conor Coady, Romain Saiss, Nelson Semedo, Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Marcal, Francisco Trincao, Raul Jimenez, Daniel Podence. Subs: Ki-Jana Hoever, Rayan Ait Nouri, Bruno Jordao, Fabio Silva, John Ruddy, Leander Dendoncker, Adama Traore, Luke Cundle, Hugo Bueno.

Romelu Lukaku's club future has been thrown into the spotlight after an explosive interview.

The Belgian striker revealed his regret at leaving Inter for Chelsea in August.

Lukaku was subsequently dropped by coach Thomas Tuchel for Sunday's 2-2 draw with Liverpool.

TOP STORY – LUKAKU COULD MAKE STUNNING SWITCH TO SPURS

La Gazzetta Dello Sport claims that unsettled Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku could make a cross-city switch to Tottenham to re-unite with Antonio Conte.

Lukaku and Conte worked together at Inter where they won the Serie A title last term.

The striker revealed his frustrations at Chelsea over the weekend, with Tuchel offering no guarantees about his future.

ROUND-UP

- Erling Haaland will not leave Borussia Dortmund during the January transfer window, reports Fabrizio Romano. Haaland has not decided his next destination yet, despite rumours of a pre-agreement with Real Madrid and Barcelona.

- Ara claims Barcelona will offer Ousmane Dembele to Manchester United as part of a swap deal for want-away forward Anthony Martial.

- Tottenham and West Ham United  are both keen to sign Wolves' Adama Traore, claims the Telegraph. Wolves want £20million for the Spanish forward.

- Olympiakos' Guinea international midfielder Aguibou Camara is attracting interest from Milan and Liverpool, claims Calciomercato.

Ralf Rangnick says Edinson Cavani will "definitely" not be allowed to leave Manchester United during the January transfer window.

Cavani has only started three games for the Red Devils this season, but came into the side for the Premier League defeat of Burnley last Thursday after his strike at Newcastle United rescued a 1-1 draw.

The Uruguay striker has been linked with the likes of Barcelona and Juventus, having become frustrated with a lack of opportunities at Old Trafford.

But interim boss Rangnick has told Cavani, who is under contract until the end of June, he wants him to stay at United. 

"He knows that I will definitely not let him go," said the German.

He added: "I told him from the very first day that, for me, he is a highly important player. He is probably the only one who can play as a striker back to goal and face to goal.

"And, as I said, his professionalism, his work ethic is just amazing and I told him that I desperately want him to stay until the end of the season. He knows that. He also knows how highly I rate him and how highly I respect him.

"We will definitely need Edi. I would rather have another Edi on top of that but for me it's clear that Edi has to stay."

One player who is expected to be on his way out of United is Anthony Martial, who has told the club he wants to leave.

Sevilla are reported to have had a loan offer for the forward rejected and Rangnick says he will only be allowed to move if the deal is right for all parties.

"He made it very clear that he wants to leave and, in a way, I can understand his wish to leave and to try to play more regularly somewhere else," Rangnick said.

"But, again, it's a question not only of what he wants to do but it's also a question of which kind of clubs are interested in him and do they meet the demands of the club, so we have to wait and see."

United will look to extend their unbeaten run to nine matches when they entertain Wolves in the Premier League on Monday.