Erik ten Hag could be about to decide another Manchester United career vs Nottingham Forest

After Erik ten Hag was appointed Manchester United manager in April last year, few would have anticipated a left-back being his first signing.

But after United caught wind of Tyrell Malacia's proposed move from Feyenoord to Lyon, they swooped in at the last minute and stole him from under the nose of the Ligue 1 club. He became the first signing of the Ten Hag era and the first of six signings that were made last summer.

After initially starting the campaign as Luke Shaw's understudy, the 24-year-old was parachuted into the starting XI for the very first time for the clash with Liverpool at Old Trafford last August. United had, of course, lost their first two games, and Ten Hag had to do something to transform his side's fortunes.

He was exceptional in the 2-1 win over the Merseysiders, marking the beginning of a run of five consecutive Premier League starts. It was only after he was terrorised by Phil Foden in the first half of the 6-3 defeat to Manchester City in October that he lost his place and Shaw came back into the side.

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Shaw, from that moment onwards, dominated the left-back spot for the majority of the season. Malacia did, of course, continue to be awarded opportunities, either from the bench or by earning the occasional start, and ended the season with 39 appearances to his name.

But after the way Shaw had gone up through the gears throughout the season, there was no chance of him dislodging the England international from his post ahead of the start of this term. Those aspirations were, of course,