Erik ten Hag is about to have a major midfield issue at Manchester United

Scott McTominay must have been sat on the Tottenham bench last month wondering why Manchester United rejected a £30million bid for him.

Erik ten Hag's side were a goal down inside four minutes of the second-half and Tottenham's midfield pair of Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma were running riot. In front of them, James Maddison had the freedom of north London to work his magic.

United's midfield was struggling badly and in need of energy, even if technical quality had to be compromised. Instead, the Dutchman removed Antony for Christian Eriksen and then avoided midfield changes altogether.

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"What is clear is that Ten Hag doesn't want to revert back to Scott McTominay," Gary Neville said during that defeat. "With Fernandes on the right, the midfield looks all over the place and the front three doesn't look capable of functioning as one.

"Does he go back to McTominay? Ten Hag has made five substitutions and not used him. It's almost as if he is managing him out of the club."

McTominay got his first start of the season against Brighton yesterday, having played a grand total of nine minutes in the four games before the international break. He came off the bench for three minutes against Wolves and six against Nottingham Forest - two games in which late changes were made to kill the clock.

His inclusion on Saturday came with United arguably at their weakest point in terms of depth. Antony and Jadon Sancho are both absent due to off-field issues, while Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo and Sofyan Amrabat are injured. This is what it takes for the Scotland regular to get a look in, an incredibly rare set of