Welcome to the United On My Mind daily round-up, where we take a look at some of the best Manchester United stories you might have missed.
Sir Alex Ferguson was honoured with a giant banner wishing him a happy birthday the day before he turned 80 at United's game with Burnley on Thursday and Cristiano Ronaldo has taken the time to send his former boss a message.
United have been linked with River Plate's Julian Alvarez in recent weeks and the youngster is reportedly open to discussing a move to Old Trafford.
And finally, former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has named the United player he believes Ralf Rangnick can rely on to be a 'leader' on the field.
From Ronny with love
How about some wholesome content to kick us off?
Ronaldo is never shy when it comes to lauding Sir Alex Ferguson and so it should probably come as no surprise to see him send his former boss a birthday message.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner posted a picture of the pair together on social media with the simple caption "Happy Birthday sir," and he even went to the effort of adding a little birthday cake emoji.
Our view: Not really sure what I'm meant to say here.
Very nice to see Ronaldo acknowledging the great man's birthday. Anyway, let's move on.
Alvarez wants United move?
United have been credited with an interest in River Plate striker Alvarez over the past few weeks.
It was recently claimed that the club had been in touch with Alvarez's agent with a view to arranging a meeting to discuss a move. Calciomercato is now reporting that 21-year-old's representatives will fly to Europe on January 2 to conduct such talks.
The report adds that Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Fiorentina are all hoping to meet with Alvarez's entourage, but the Argentina international has instructed his team to hold talks with United.
Our view: My opinion on this potential transfer hinges solely on the future of Edinson Cavani.
If the Uruguayan hitman moves on then United evidently need a replacement, but if he stays until the summer then I want to see him playing as regularly as possible and so I wouldn't be disappointed if we didn't sign another striker.
Henry lauds United midfielder
Interim boss Rangnick has a lot of problems to fix at United, with recent reports of dressing disharmony the last thing he would have wanted to have to deal with just weeks after his appointment.
However, former Arsenal striker Henry has pinpointed one player who he believes can make Rangnick's job a little easier by producing top-quality performances when his side needs him.
The Frenchman singled out Scott McTominay for praise after United's 3-1 win over Burnley on Thursday, claiming he's maturing into the kind of player who can lead others in the squad.
“The symbol of the night [against Burnley] was McTominay,” Arsenal legend Henry told Amazon Prime.
“He responded really well. The energy, the desire, the commitment is what you want from a player of this club.
“You’re always going to be compared to the players who came before. But what I like about him is his maturity, on the field and off the field.
“He played really well but he’s also thinking about the team’s performance. He is maturing a lot as a leader in this squad.”
Henry's comments came after McTominay had handed United an early lead in their win over Sean Dyche's side, a result that sees Rangnick stretch his unbeaten run as United boss to five games.
Our view: McTominay has come on leaps and bounds over recent years and the fact he can slot in at centre-back if needed means he's a huge asset to the team.
Perhaps the Scotsman's biggest problem is that United are yet to find his best position. He's been shoehorned into a defensive midfield role at times but now Rangnick seems determined to get more out of him offensively.
If the interim boss can finally nail down his best position then he could become a huge player moving forward.
What are your best memories of Cristiano Ronaldo and Sir Alex Ferguson's time together at United? Follow United On My Mind content editor Ross Jackson on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
