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Manchester United were held to a stalemate at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, as the visitors now having a tally of just one point from two Premier League matches.

Frustrating: Manchester United have only picked up 1 point from 2 matches

Having lost their opener to Swansea, shockingly, Manchester United came into this match hoping to set things right. However, prior to the match, United were dealt a massive setback, as their main midfielder Ander Herrera had been sidelined for 6 weeks with an ankle injury.

Unfortunately, that meant that Van Gaal barely had any options left in midfield, as we could see in the starting line-up, because Darren Fletcher and Tom Cleverley were starting in the middle of the park against Sunderland.

Evidently, things did not go well in this match, despite Manchester United starting three world class players in attack: Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata. A midfield duo consisting of Lee Cattermole and Jack Rodwell, who also scored Sunderland's equalizer, overran United's weak, fragile duo of Fletcher and Cleverley.

It was clear, once again, that United's defence and midfield needed some serious reinforcements. With about 7 players injured, United's squad depth right now looks as thin as paper, and it will be joy to the ears of Manchester United fans if they do indeed sign midfielders like Daley Blind and Nigel de Jong, who they want apparently according to ESPN.

Player Ratings
David de Gea: 7/10
Had little to do for the whole match, as  Sunderland barely threatened the goal apart from the goal, which he could do nothing about. Decent distribution.

Antonio Valencia: 6/10
Offered very little creativity in attack, although he did provide Juan Mata with a fantastic drilled cross. Covered well defensively, his pace allowed him to get back into position when himself or his teammates were caught out. Left his man unmarked for Sunderland's equalizer, which is just another example of how he is not the best defensively. That is concerning, because he is not the best offensively, either.

Chris Smalling: 6/10
Looked very nervy at the start, diving into a couple of challenges rashly. Looked uncomfortable on the ball, and passing it, but he is still one of United's top defenders, and they won't be pleased at all seeing him go off injured.

Phil Jones: 8/10
Once again, Jones was the main man in United's defense. He made a couple of brilliant last ditch challenges and darted forward when he got the chance, trying to contribute to the attack. Has easily been United's defender in these opening matches, and they will not want him to get injured.

Tyler Blackett: 7/10
Very composed on the ball for someone of his age, and the composure was once again there today. Played very maturely, and defended quite well. His pace allowed him to get back when he was caught out of position. His distribution and composure on the ball are attributes which impress me most.

Ashley Young: 5.5/10
Another ordinary performance from him. Offers next to nothing going forward, his crosses are fairly inaccurate and is often caught out of position, which gifts the opposition glorious chances. Will be lucky to be on the bench when Luke Shaw comes back to fitness and Marcos Rojo is available for selection.

Darren Fletcher: 5/10
Another dire performance from Manchester United's vice captain. Made a rash of a couple of simple passes towards the beginning of the match, and was caught in possession too many times. United definitely need to upgrade on him, he cannot be their defensive midfielder for longer.

Tom Cleverley: 5/10
As usual, Cleverley was lacking confidence. In short, he lacked everything a midfielder at a 'big club' requires; those requirements being confidence, technical ability and vision. Offered none of that today.

Juan Mata: 6/10
Despite snatching his goal, Mata once again struggled to break down the opposition's defense, which was his main job. Is it just me or have his free-kicks/corners gone down in quality since last season?

Wayne Rooney: 6/10
Unfortunately, Rooney was unable to get involved in the game much. Barely had any chances, and was living off scraps.

Robin van Persie: 6/10
Similar to Rooney, van Persie was also unable to get involved at all, and he was also living off scraps. One small positive would be to see him back on the pitch.

Adnan Januzaj: 5.5/10
Was brought on in place of Fletcher, in the unfamiliar role of CM. Didn't do anything wrong, just looked too uncomfortable playing there, which is understandable.

Danny Welbeck: 6/10
Like the other strikers, he too was largely uninvolved but put in a lot of effort trying to chase down lost causes.

Michael Keane: 6/10
Made a bizarre error whilst trying to head the ball clear, which will unfortunately be the highlight of his performance. His young, defensive counterpart looks much more likely to be featuring this campaign, despite a fairly good and solid performance from Michael.

Jack Rodwell was once hailed as England's next star midfielder. Some even called him Steven Gerrard's perfect successor. The whole country dreamed of the day when Jack Wilshere and Jack Rodwell played alongside each other in the English kit, and destroyed midfields which have conquered England's for so long. At the time, Rodwell was playing for Everton under David Moyes, who had unearthed the talent from Everton's academy. It seemed like Jack Rodwell had it all; he could tackle, he could fit into Moyes' passing game, he could press, and he could undoubtedly score some thumping goals. Fast forward a few years, and here we see Jack Rodwell signing for Sunderland, after spending 2 disastrous years at Manchester City. What went wrong in the young star's career?

Rodwell went from being a young star to an outcast

In 2012, Jack Rodwell signed for Manchester City, from Everton, where he had impressed ever since he made his debut back in 2007 while he was just 16 years old. I personally thought that Rodwell would excel during his time at the Etihad. Roberto Mancini needed someone to partner Yaya Toure in midfield, and despite also having Nigel de Jong and Javi Garcia at the club, I did think that Rodwell would start over them. I had never been so wrong.

During his two year stay at Manchester City, Rodwell only made 16 appearances. This was partly due to the amount of injuries he suffered, and partly because there were now plenty of better midfielders than him at the club. There was no place for Rodwell in the side or the bench, and the only useful thing about him was the fact that he would be counted in the Manchester City 'Homegrown' category, allowing City to cope the Financial Fair Play rules.

Now, finally Rodwell's injury plagued tenure at City has come to an end. The England international put pen to paper with Sunderland last night, and will be hoping to resurrect his career at the Stadium of Light. But will that be possible?

Jack Rodwell has signed for Sunderland

Unfortunately, it is very likely that Rodwell will never again be the player that impressed everyone during his time at Everton. He has spent too much time playing for the City Reserves and on the sidelines. There is, however, a small chance that Rodwell could be half the player he was thought to be at this age, and if Rodwell fulfills half of the potential he had, Sunderland would have made a bargain signing.

At the tender age of 23, Rodwell could well manage to turn his career around, however unlikely it may seem. But for that to happen, Gus Poyet must ensure that he gives the lad a major confidence boost, which is something he will undoubtedly need after the disastrous spell he had with Manchester City, as well as regular minutes on the pitch. With midfielder Jack Colback leaving the club, Rodwell could find himself thrown on to the pitch straight away, which he must have been missing for so long.

Gus Poyet faces a massive challenge himself. Without the needed reinforcements in the form of Ki Sung Yeung and Jack Colback in midfield, Poyet depends on Rodwell being fit otherwise his only central midfield pairing will have to be Craig Gardner and Lee Cattermole, a midfield duo who aren't exactly ideal for the Black Cats.

Sunderland will be desperately hoping that they don't get involved in the relegation dogfight again this time around, but in order to do that, they will need to bring out the best from the waning bright light of Jack Rodwell. Will Rodwell reshape his career and live up to his potential, or will he just be another name added to the list of disappointing young English talents who faded away alongside David Bentley?

Written by Mayank Tiwary. Twitter: @VanPerseing

According to Daily Mirror, West Ham are trying to sign 28 years old Sunderland full-back Phil Bardsley.