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Vital, integral, pivotal.

Three words used in a variety of articles that popped up in the international break prior to the Manchester derby in relation to United defender Daley Blind.

The Dutchman's flying start to the season earned him a nomination for the club's August Player of the Month award.

Fans raved about his performances in the first three games of the season, in which he didn't miss a single tackle.

Fast forward a couple of days and the critics are out in force after a shaky display in the defeat to City.

Blind was at fault for Kevin De Bruyne's opening goal and then played Kelechi Iheanacho onside for the visitors' second, and what turned out to be the winner.

It prompted Paul Scholes , who has found quite the voice since retirement, to suggest Jose Mourinho must make changes with Blind and teammate Antonio Valencia being played out of position.

When he was hired, Mourinho spoke about the need for specialists, rather than players who could do a job in a number of positions.

It's a valid point on Valencia - his excellent form in the first three games came in the attacking third rather than as a defensive stalwart, and although it's encouraging to see his natural instincts as a wideman returning, a right back should be able to defend.

Matteo Darmian's fate is a contributing factor, with the Italian not fancied so far - although he may feature in the Europa League or EFL Cup games. Most would prefer to see Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

Further forward, issues abound with Mourinho's favoured 4-2-3-1 formation , and whether that gets the best out of world record signing Paul Pogba.

But that doesn't apply to Blind. Centre back is his natural home in a United shirt, with better options at both left back and centre midfield.

More than that, he has demonstrated exactly why he belongs there.

Eric Bailly has been the talk of the season so far, but he wouldn't have been nearly so impressive without Blind's steady hand on the tiller next to him. The 22-year-old is still learning the English game, and his central defensive partner has smoothed the pathway and helped the Ivorian make it look comparatively easy.

Blind's superb reading of the game compensates for a lack of pace, and is the perfect foil for Bailly's more physical approach.

Chris Smalling, voted Players' Player of the Year last term, was a similar beneficiary. But while it's certain we will see Smalling partner Bailly sometime in the not too distant future, there is a potential for an impetuous partnership.

Bailly has a tendency to dive in, while Smalling's red card in the FA Cup Final was an illustration of his own occasional lapses in discipline.

Blind has been excellent, and one bad game shouldn't change the overall view of his time at United so far. Admittedly with a low bar, he was one of the best performers in Louis van Gaal's final season.

United's pursuit of Jose Fonte and targeting of Raphael Varane in the summer indicates Mourinho isn't happy with his current defensive corps, and that is understandable.

But Blind was not the decisive factor in the loss to Pep Guardiola's City. That was very much a collective failure, with Mourinho's selection and tactics questionable, while too many players did not perform to an acceptable level.

He may not be world class, and he may not be the long-term future, but Mourinho shouldn't be in a rush to jettison him just yet.

Scholes opined that the nation was waiting for Blind to fail. But he has already proved a success. Hold fire on those obituaries.