Erik ten Hag showed what he really thinks of Manchester United squad depth

There is somewhat of a myth about Manchester United's squad depth this season. Sure, they have a lot of players and options to choose from, but that doesn't mean they have used them, or necessarily have any plans to do so.

Over the past five days, there have been two chances for Erik ten Hag to switch things up a bit, firstly for the visit of Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League and secondly against Newcastle in the Premier League this past weekend.

On both occasions, the United boss resisted the desire to experiment, instead relying on a group of players already in the first-team picture, all of whom have had opportunities since he took over.

READ NEXT: Eddie Howe gives verdict on disallowed Cristiano Ronaldo goal

The Europa League's very second-string character and their opponent made the absence of fresh players for the encounter against Omonia the most disappointing, yet the goalless draw with Newcastle still provided similar displeasure considering United only made one replacement.

Ten Hag had raised spirits ahead of kick-off on Sunday when he named Youth Cup hero Kobbie Mainoo on the bench alongside fellow academy starlets Zidane Iqbal and Alejandro Garnacho. There was also room for the more experienced Anthony Elanga and Facundo Pellistri.

It might be too soon for any of those to make regular impacts for United at first-team level, but on an afternoon in which they were so underwhelming and short of ideas, they were at least worthy of a chance.

Given United's lack of ideas and inspiration, why not throw a raw youngster onto the pitch? Sure, they might not be up to the challenge, but neither were many of the senior stars. Instead, using a relative unknown could bamboozle the Newcastle defence given they won't