Man Utd can follow Chelsea and Arsenal examples to solve Ronaldo problem

Manchester United have dominated the headlines so far this week after sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Sunday morning.

A 4-1 defeat to Watford was unsurprisingly the final straw with the Norwegian departing Old Trafford just under three years after joining. The hunt for his replacement is now on.

One big quandary for whoever steps into the dugout will be what role to give Cristiano Ronaldo. As far as undroppable players go, they don’t come much more undroppable.

But is that right? Questions have been raised over the Portuguese’s work ethic off the ball and whether it is ultimately holding the Red Devils back and hindering any game plan.

He has had no trouble finding the net since his return, but many have argued that it has come at the detriment of the squad.

Both Chelsea and Arsenal have reaped the rewards from club legends returning, but when Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba were signed for the second time, each took a supporting role.

The 2011-12 campaign saw Henry return to north London to reunite with Arsene Wenger but despite the huge clamour from supporters to see the legend return to the pitch, Wenger used him sparingly.

In four Premier League, one Champions League and two FA Cup clashes, Henry never appeared in games for longer than 45 minutes.

But in that period, he was still able to contribute, scoring winners against Leeds United in the FA Cup and Sunderland in the league. Wenger likely knew that had he played the veteran forward for 90 minutes week in week out, he would have hampered the side rather than helped it.

Drogba arguably left Chelsea in the perfect possible way in 2012 when his penalty in the Allianz Arena won the Blues their first Champions League title.

But Jose Mourinho chose to bring the talisman back to Stamford Bridge for the 2014-15 campaign. Again, like Henry, Drogba was used sparingly, allowing Diego Costa to take centre-stage.

However, in big moments and times of pressure, he was able to turn to Drogba. The Ivorian ended the campaign with just four goals in 28 Premier League games, but with another top-flight title to his name.

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No one is naive enough to think that either Henry or Drogba were on the same level in their respective spells that Ronaldo finds himself on at this moment.

At the same time, however, he is not the player he once was. In Mason Greenwood they have one of the most exciting striking prospects in the world and in Jadon Sancho a big summer outlay who has not been allowed to flourish.

Perhaps it is time to allow them to take centre-stage, just as Robin van Persie and Diego Costa were allowed to.