Erik ten Hag can use the mid-season break to fine-tune a few issues at United

The beginning of Manchester United's second pre-season has been very similar to the beginning of their first. Back in July, Cristiano Ronaldo's camp made it abundantly clear that their client desired to leave. Now it is Ronaldo who is speculating that the club is attempting to coerce him into leaving. You are going to have to figure that one out on your own.

In any case, Ten Hag has been forced to focus his thoughts for far too much time during crucial phases of this season on a 37-year-old player whose career is nearing its conclusion. This is the case regardless of how challenging it may be for Ronaldo to come to terms with the situation.

It came as a complete surprise to him this week when Ronaldo gave his explosive interview. He didn't find out that the forward had spoken until after the final whistle blew in the match against Fulham the previous weekend, and clips of the interview were released later that same night.

United have now begun taking "appropriate steps" as a response to the interview, and one of those "appropriate steps" could be the termination of Ronaldo's contract. It is difficult to imagine him going back to Carrington after the World Cup is over.

The club's goal is to get that process finished as quickly as possible so that the story can come to a close and Ten Hag can concentrate on recruiting players who are interested in playing for the club. They have trained this week and will then have some time off before traveling to Cadiz for a warm-weather training camp during the first week of December. This camp will include friendly matches against Cadiz CF and Real Betis.

Although Ten Hag has gotten off to a promising start in his new role at Old Trafford, there are still a few significant issues that need to be ironed out during this season's break in play.

Get Anthony Martial into fighting shape.

Martial has performed like United's best striker so far this season; however, he has only been healthy enough to play for a total of 292 minutes, which is only 15.4% of the total minutes that have been played to this point.

The Frenchman returned from another injury setback just before the World Cup, but Didier Deschamps chose not to include him in his World Cup squad. As a result, he will be under the tutelage of Ten Hag during the break, during which he will be able to work on his fitness and master the Dutchman's game plan.

Although Martial has only played a limited amount of minutes, he has contributed four goals and two assists for United, and the team's offense has appeared to be more effective when he has been the primary focus. If United are unable to find a suitable replacement for Ronaldo, then his physical condition heading into the second half of the season could be of the utmost importance.

Confidence in Jadon Sancho needs to be rebuilt.

A remarkable turn of events has transpired for Sancho, a winger that Manchester United spent £73 million on during the previous summer, as the World Cup begins today but Sancho will be watching from a distance.

Since making that move, the 22-year-old forward hasn't developed as quickly as was anticipated, and what appeared to be a promising start under Ten Hag has fizzled out. He only has three goals and one assist so far this season. Sancho now has more competition to deal with as a result of Alejandro Garnacho's rise to prominence.

This past weekend, eyebrows were raised as a result of his decision to delete his old social media posts and turn his profile picture into a black and white image; however, it is understood that this is to indicate that he will be taking a break from the platform. Sancho, who has suffered a loss of confidence along with his position on the team, appears to be facing a second preseason that could prove to be extremely important.

Give the attack a more pointed and cutting edge.

Under Ten Hag's leadership, United has racked up 14 victories so far, but only five of those victories have been decided by more than one goal. These include both of the games that were played against the Moldovan team Sheriff Tiraspol, as well as the Carabao Cup game that was played against Aston Villa, in which the fourth goal was scored in injury time.

Under Ten Hag's direction, United have had trouble putting away opponents, particularly teams that defend in a deep formation and make an effort to stay compact. In the Premier League, there have been victories by two goals against Arsenal and Tottenham, but victories in the Premier League against Southampton, Leicester City, Everton, West Ham, and Fulham have all been decided by a single goal.

Despite the exhilaration of moments such as Garnacho's dramatic winner at Craven Cottage last weekend, United will want more breathing room in games and will need to improve their record, which means they will need to win more games.

Find a new player to play right back.

At Fulham, Diogo Dalot's streak of starting every game came to an end when he was suspended; however, his value skyrocketed while he was out because Tyrell Malacia struggled to perform well at right back in his absence.

Ten Hag has a problem on his hands in that position due to the fact that Aaron Wan-Bissaka appears to be on his way out of the club, and it would be even worse if something were to happen to Dalot. It does not appear as though Malacia is at ease there, and Victor Lindelof would be playing out of position if he were to do so.

United anticipates a slow transfer window in January; however, the situation with Ronaldo may force them to look for a forward, and there is also the possibility that a right back will be required as well. In addition, there is an argument that a center back will be required.