Manchester United decision on Sofyan Amrabat should be a no-brainer

"It's normal my start was a bit difficult. I don't like to give excuses, but I didn't have a pre-season, so that's difficult for every player I think," said Sofyan Amrabat last month.

"I started with an injury and normally you need some time to adapt, but there was no time, the team needed me, so I had to jump in immediately and I'm a fighter, I will never say no when the manager needs me.

"The Premier League is the strongest in the world, but I'm happy, every day I'm stronger and better. So I'm happy we won the game and I played quite good, but there's a lot of things to do better and I have more to offer."

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That post-match interview with Amrabat came after the win against Chelsea on December 6 and he played the entire match, starting alongside Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes. Erik ten Hag needed to make changes after a lifeless performance against Newcastle and Amrabat was preferred to Kobbie Mainoo, who was named on the bench.

Amrabat retained his starting place for the next match against Bournemouth but a 3-0 humbling at Old Trafford followed, which increased the heat on an already under-pressure manager.

It was a shock to see Amrabat keep his place in games against Bayern Munich and Liverpool, but he was finally dropped against West Ham before Christmas and he's not been in a squad since.

The midfielder picked up a minor injury that ruled him out of the festive clashes against Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest and reported for Africa Cup of Nations duty in January.

Amrabat joined up with Morocco for the tournament currently being held in the Ivory Coast and he departed