Erik ten Hag has finally got the selection problem he wanted at Manchester United

When the team news dropped at 7pm on Tuesday evening, it would be fair to say that some Manchester United supporters were left scratching their heads.

Following several months of speculation linking him with a move to Old Trafford, Sofyan Amrabat was awarded his full United debut for the Carabao Cup clash with Crystal Palace, just 72 hours after appearing as a late substitute against Burnley at Turf Moor. Few, however, would have anticipated him making his first start for the club at left-back.

But with fellow loanee Sergio Reguilon joining Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia on the sidelines, the Moroccan was tasked with starting on the left of the back-four and tucking into midfield when United had possession. Though some were somewhat dumbfounded by Erik ten Hag's thinking pre-match, they most certainly understood his approach by the time the full-time whistle was blown.

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With full-back options increasingly limited, Ten Hag was left with no choice but to deploy the Fiorentina loanee as an emergency left-back. He had, however, played in the position before, albeit a long time ago.

If it was a challenge that was sent to test the Morocco international, he passed it with flying colours. He shuffled across into midfield so many times during the first half that you would not have even realised that he had been tasked with starting as a defender.

Though his performance on the left side of the defence was extremely encouraging, United did not add him to their ranks on deadline day to play in that position; they borrowed him for the season to beef up their midfield and provide both support and competition for