Man United boss Ralf Rangnick may favour Alex Telles and Diogo Dalot

Footballer fortunes are like shifting sands and sometimes there's only a limited amount they can do to influence matters.

Take Manchester United's full-backs. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer favoured Luke Shaw at left-back and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back so regularly you could practically guarantee they'd be on the teamsheet.

But the new interim manager at Old Trafford, Ralf Rangnick, is already hinting pretty strongly that Alex Telles and Diogo Dalot will be the way forward.

Shaw and Wan-Bissaka started the first 12 Premier League matches of the season under Solskjaer but, all of a sudden, you wonder how they'll win their places back.

The England left-back is currently sidelined after taking blows to the head against Manchester City and Watford, allowing Telles a rare opportunity that he has taken.

Wan-Bissaka missed the win over Arsenal with a hand injury but was then left on the bench by Rangnick for his first game in charge against Crystal Palace. Dalot got the nod and duly impressed.

You can't escape the feeling that Telles and Dalot might be better suited to Rangnick's style of play, which favours full-backs happy to cross the halfway line and support the attack as well as press high.

As United legend Rio Ferdinand said after the Palace win: 'I've got to be honest, Wan-Bissaka has got a hell of a job getting back in this team. The same for Luke Shaw.

'One thing this manager likes if full-backs who can actually play and get on the ball.

'As well as doing the other stuff like pressing, he wants output with the ball. That's the weakest part of Wan-Bissaka's game, there's going to be a big fight for him to get back into this team.'

The four games since Solskjaer's dismissal - three overseen by Michael Carrick and one by Rangnick - have strongly suggested the former manager was too loyal to Shaw and Wan-Bissaka.

Dalot and Telles always had ability but weren't given the opportunity. Now their time may have come or at the very least Rangnick will rotate a bit more. Fortune can be fickle for players.

As Ferdinand said, Wan-Bissaka looks the more vulnerable. His right-back spot was so nailed down last season, Dalot was sent out on loan to AC Milan to actually get some football.

Wan-Bissaka cost United £45million when signed from Crystal Palace in 2019 and has already racked up 117 appearances for the club.

His tackling ability isn't in doubt but his abilities pushing forward raise question marks. Too often Wan-Bissaka will get into an advanced position and not produce a cross or killer pass.

He can also be exposed when out of position. Manchester City - and Joao Cancelo in particular - did a hatchet job on him during their recent win at Old Trafford.

Dalot, who hadn't started back-to-back Premier League games since April 2019 prior to this week, has been incredibly patient while watching Wan-Bissaka keep his place in an under-performing team under Solskjaer.

But Rangnick is likely to value his skillset more. In Premier League appearances for United, Dalot creates on average 1.27 chances per match compared to Wan-Bissaka's 0.79.

Dalot has a crossing accuracy of 30.88 per cent as opposed to Wan-Bissaka's 17.11, albeit from a far smaller sample size of games.

His average position in Sunday's win was five yards inside the Palace half, further forward than Wan-Bissaka's average for the season so far.

That is explained by Rangnick giving his players more licence to press forward but you suspect the German coach will be just as interested in those offensive comparisons as in who is the better tackler.

Dalot played a big part in Fred's winner against Palace and Rangnick will have been given plenty of food for thought.

Shaw would be more unfortunate if he now loses his place. He rose to the challenge of competition when Brazil international Telles was signed from Porto last October.

The England man enjoyed a superb season and that form continued into Euro 2020, with Telles restricted mainly to Europa League action.

But Shaw has struggled this season and though he is now sidelined at a most unlucky time given the change of coach, he will have to raise his game yet again.

Shaw is better going forward than Wan-Bissaka but Telles shares many of those creative qualities. He too can deliver a cross, beat an opponent and press high up the field.

His average position during the Palace game was even higher than Dalot's and almost as advanced as Bruno Fernandes as he took every opportunity to join the attack.

Rangnick is unlikely to decide on his regular starter until Shaw returns to action but we could easily see more rotation of the pair than under Solskjaer.

It's suddenly apparent that United do have full-back depth after all and they need it. Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City have all shown how important a position it is in the modern game.

Full-backs need to be wing-backs with defensive and attacking qualities in equal measure. United now have a coach who appreciates that more than most and old loyalties count for nothing.