Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag drops hint over Amad

Erik ten Hag has indicated Amad could make his first meaningful Premier League start for Manchester United against Sheffield United.

The 21-year-old has not started for United since December 2021 and he has made six appearances off the bench this season, scoring the winning goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Amad joined United from Atalanta in October 2020 and only three of his 15 appearances for the club have been as a starter. The winger's only two starts in the Premier League were in heavily-rotated teams against Leicester and Wolves in May 2021 as then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prioritised the league visit of Liverpool and the Europa League final.

The Ivory Coast international sustained a knee injury in the pre-season victory over Arsenal in July and did not return until late December.

“Amad deserves it (to start matches), but don’t forget he had a long period in the season injured," Ten Hag said. "So we rebuilt him and now he has had some opportunities and a real contribution.

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"He played in a position that is not his best position. He started as a striker and then he had to play in the midfield, so he did well. We have a number of players in that area, there is big competition.

"He already deserved more game minutes, I would say, but I have to choose there. We have (Alejandro) Garnacho, Antony, and we have Omari Forson. We have a number of players in that position and we have to make choices there.

"But I am very happy with his performances and his progress, I see his qualities and his assets can really contribute to our game.”

Ten Hag could