United’s ‘pure talent’ has already shown Ten Hag in just 171 minutes why he must be a concrete starter – opinion

Manchester United return to action this Saturday afternoon with a trip to face newly-promoted Southampton at St. Mary’s.

The Reds entered the international break placed 14th in the Premier League table, having just sustained a 3-0 defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford. The week prior, they fell to a 2-1 injury-time loss vs Brighton and Hove Albion.

Such results inflicted a general low mood around United, quickly prompting reports of Erik ten Hag’s job being at risk just three months after INEOS affirmed their faith in the manager. It’s thought that he could be relieved of his duties in the near future unless a clear style of play is evident when club action resumes, and in order to do so, changes must be made on the teamsheet.

Fans were perplexed to see that Amad Diallo had dropped to the bench for the Liverpool clash – not only because he’d scored the side’s lone goal of the game eight days earlier but also because he’d been their brightest spark in his five consecutive starts leading up to the fixture.

Read more: ‘Attitude, application’ – Richards pours praise on ‘brilliant’ United graduate who deserves more respect

Amad’s put his case forward – it mustn’t fall on deaf ears

The 22-year-old ‘pure talent’ replaced Alejandro Garnacho in the 68th minute and proceeded to record twice as many carries into the penalty area than any of his teammates in just 22 minutes on the pitch.

In his total 171 minutes played this term, he has had more touches in the penalty area than any United player (12), as well as more carries into the final third (eight) and more carries into the box (seven) – per StatmanDave.

It’s clear that Amad is able to make such efficient use of the time he’s granted on the ball, and utilising him as anything less than a concrete starter would be foolish for the crucial matches ahead.