Erik ten Hag's Manchester United midfield has something it didn't last season

Though Erik ten Hag deserved plenty of credit for the respect he showed the domestic cup competitions last season, it was sometimes felt that he approached with too much force.

Taking Manchester United's 3-1 FA Cup fourth round win over Reading in January, for example, the Dutchman played a midfield trio of Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro. Though the latter scored twice that evening, it came at a cost.

Eriksen was wiped out by former Royals striker Andy Carroll, meaning he left Old Trafford on crutches. He didn't play again until April.

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Ten Hag was livid with the challenge, not least because it meant he had lost one of his most influential players for more than two months. United desperately missed the Dane's orchestrating skills in the engine room.

Though an injury can occur in any game, there was an overriding feeling among United's supporters that Ten Hag had taken an unnecessary gamble, deploying one of his most important players against a team that was hurtling towards relegation to League One. It was a familiar theme in United's run to lifting the Carabao Cup, with the Dutchman persisting with his most senior stars when he could have made changes.

In his defence, however, he lacked strength in depth last term. A lack of quality in reserve in midfield meant he had to persist with Casemiro, Eriksen and Fernandes, even though they would have benefited from a breather. United's fallback options in the engine room, in fairness to Ten Hag, did little to inspire.

This season, however, he has better options within his midfield arsenal to