Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag might be about to show how much he trusts Alejandro Garnacho

Manchester United have spent more than £200million on right-wingers since 2020 but the only one likely to be available to start against Brighton this weekend is the 21-year-old with one start to his name.

Even then, Facundo Pellistri is likely to remain a substitute rather than a starter against the Seagulls, despite the likely absence of Antony, Jadon Sancho and Amad. Instead, Erik ten Hag is likely to pick an attack consisting of two forwards who prefer to play on the left, or three who like that role if Anthony Martial remains at centre-forward.

Amad's injury is robbing him of a chance to stake a claim at the moment, with Antony now given a leave of absence to contest allegations of assault in Brazil, while Sancho is unlikely to find the path back into the side clear after his astonishing social media criticism of Ten Hag last weekend.

That leaves Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho as the likely wingers against Brighton and one of them will be required for the graveyard shift on the right, when it's clear both would prefer to play on the left.

ALSO READ: Ten Hag and Sancho showdown talks might surprise fans

It's not going to be a simple decision for Ten Hag. After two starts through the middle, Rashford has looked better on the left recently, contributing two assists and a goal against Nottingham Forest and Arsenal.

But he has the experience of operating on the right that Garnacho lacks. According to stats on Transfermarkt, Rashford has played 42 games as a right winger for United, scoring 11 times and creating seven more. Garnacho has featured there once, when coming on as a substitute in the 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad at Old Trafford a year ago.

The balance for Ten Hag is whether he needs the certainty of