Just 14 touches – has this man played his last game for Manchester United?

Follow us on Google Discover

Javier Hernandez was afforded a chance to shine against Swansea City. He didn’t take it.

The Mexican failed to trouble the Swans’ backline one bit before being hauled off at half-time by manager Louis van Gaal.

This was his chance to prove his worth to United, to prolong his Old Trafford career. Instead, it looks as though the 26-year-old has played his last – or at least one of his last – games for the club.

Our man Vincent Ralph provided this rating of Hernandez’s performance:

“The Mexican sharp-shooter is expected to leave United this summer and, on this evidence, there is little reason to keep him. There is no doubt he is a goal-threat but when he starts he rarely threatens and the same applied on Saturday.”

And the stats do not make for good reading…

Appallingly for a striker, Hernandez managed not a single shot on goal. He won just one dribble and completed six final-third passes (in this instance he fared relatively well).

But the most telling statistic was that the Mexican only took 14 touches of the ball – 13 less than Marouane Fellaini, who played just 23 minutes of yesterday’s game, and 15 less than Jesse Lingard, who played just 24 minutes.

Hernandez has always been a penalty-box striker but, in recent months, the 26-year-old has taken that aspect of his game a little too far. Under Van Gaal’s new system, dynamic players full of movement will be the norm.

Wayne Rooney was relatively lively, scoring Manchester United’s only goal and taking six shots, while Robin van Persie will likely produce a similar display when he returns to action.

But Hernandez was far too static against Swansea, much like he was at the World Cup. And, with Van Gaal rumoured to be considering a clearout sale before the transfer deadline, the striker may be one of the first names on United’s list of departees. Certainly based on Saturday’s performance, anyway.