Erik ten Hag told the obvious selection decision he must make for Manchester United vs West Ham

Dimitar Berbatov has urged Erik ten Hag to bring Bruno Fernandes straight back into the Manchester United team for Saturday's game against West Ham.

Fernandes was unavailable for Sunday's hard-fought 0-0 draw at Liverpool due to suspension. The United captain picked up his fifth booking of the Premier League season for dissent during the 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth the prior weekend.

Scott McTominay was pushed further forward at Anfield, with Kobbie Mainoo coming in to partner Sofyan Amraba. But United lacked attacking threat on Merseyside and Berbatov has called for the 'vital' return of Fernandes.

“Without Bruno, you lose that imagination and that factor going forward," Berbatov told Stadium Astro. “When you’re on the counter-attack you need a midfielder who will play these risky passes to the forwards.

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“You saw on Sunday without him that these passes to the forwards were not coming as often as they would. So, you need to choose but he’s the captain. I think Bruno is vital for United going forward. So I think he should be playing.”

The inevitable return of club captain Fernandes will leave Erik ten Hag with a decision to make in midfield, following a solid performance from all three of his starters on Sunday. McTominay has been United's main goal threat in recent weeks and took the armband at Anfield. Mainoo and Amrabat were both reliable as the game grew, particularly after the latter picked up a worrying early yellow card and struggled to get going.

But one will likely make way on Saturday with Ten Hag set to pick one of the two to start alongside McTominay. Fernandes