Erik ten Hag hints at four starters in Manchester United's fixture vs Brighton

Erik ten Hag has suggested Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial will be Manchester United's attacking quartet for their Premier League opener against Brighton.

Martial has scored three goals in three games during United's pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia while Sancho and Rashford have each struck twice.

Fernandes is yet to register but has started all three games, as have Sancho and Martial, while Rashford has lined up in two.

Also read: Ten Hag sends transfer message to United board

With Cristiano Ronaldo's return date still unknown, Ten Hag has settled on an attack devoid of the Portuguese and United scored 11 goals against Liverpool, Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace.

"It can be," Ten Hag replied when asked whether he would stick with the established front four. "You see they connect really good together. I think when you see that you are lucky as a manager, the team is lucky, we have a threat, we have weapons, and we have to improve that every day, to develop that.

"We have a squad here and we don’t have a lot of time, we have to be ready for August 7, the squad here is defined in generations. We have experienced players, but also we wanted to give some young talents the chance, while they deserved it, to be here.

"I cannot give all young players the chances they maybe deserve, because we have to construct a team. It is good to have them in, I see them daily in training, so I get a really good impression from them, from there on we can develop them by good plans, that is the idea.

"Not all youngsters have gained minutes, I have to set priorities, but in future they will play an important role I think for building Man United."

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