There were times last season when Manchester United’s frontline almost picked itself.
With Jadon Sancho out of the picture, Antony out of form, and Amad Diallo yet to win the trust of Erik ten Hag, Manchester United went into most games with an nailed-on front free of Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho.
The lack of quality depth available to Ten Hag could hardly have been more stark than during that 2-1 home defeat by Fulham in February.
A game in which Omari Forson was thrown in at the deep end.
Six months on, and with Fulham due to travel to Old Trafford again, Man United find themselves in a very different position in terms of their attacking options regardless of Hojlund’s injury-enforced absence.
Sancho is back. Joshua Zirkzee is in, a Red Devils debut on the cards for the ‘master’ link-man.
Marcus Rashford looked sharp in pre-season even if he did miss a few presentable chances in the Community Shield, while the sparkling and ever-improving performances of both Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo are giving Ten Hag the sort of sweet, selection headache he could only have dreamed of during 2023/24.
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Marcus Rashford facing battle for Manchester United spot
Amad will hope to retain his place on the right. Ditto Rashford on the left.
Garnacho may take some dropping, however, after his devastating cameo and thrilling solo goal against Manchester City at Wembley.
For Rio Ferdinand, the legendary Man United defender, it can only be a good thing that Ten Hag suddenly has a host of talented forwards fighting for a place in that three-man frontline.
“I think it is a good dilemma for the manager to have, that you’ve got quality players that are playing,” Ferdinand says in a Q&A on his official X account. “I think Amad has been really good in pre-season. He had a good loan spell and come back full of confidence.
“And you’ve got Garnacho, who has shown he can do it on either wing. He is the versatile one.
“Obviously Marcus, the manager said at his press conference that he doesn’t want to play him up front really. He really prefers to play him on the left. And I think it’s who’s playing best (who will start).”
Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo battling for start
Ferdinand feels that not even Rashford can be considered ‘undroppable’ these days.
Not with Garnacho seemingly taking the next step in his development – he looks quicker, stronger and maybe even taller after cutting his summer holidays short – or with Amad coming off the back of an ‘explosive’ pre-season tour.
“I think Marcus, before last season, was like; ‘he has to play’,” Ferdinand adds. “I think at the moment, performance-wise, Garnacho is the one who’s like; ‘I am playing before anyone else in my mind’. And I think it should be performance-driven.
“It’s going to be interesting to see. I can’t wait to see how this unfolds. You’ve got Amad, you’ve got Rashford, you’ve got Garnacho, you’ve got Sancho… There’s four wingers there.
“So, yeah, I am looking forward to it.”
Man United could hand debuts to three new signings against Fulham.
Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee both signed on the dotted line on Monday after United agreed an initial £51 million double-deal with Bayern Munich.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/vtTwS9k