Manchester United needed two players they nearly sold to give Erik ten Hag Old Trafford moment

Had this summer gone a little differently, Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire could have been teaming up for West Ham United rather than Manchester United. As Erik ten Hag danced across his technical area with 97 minutes on the clock at Old Trafford, he would have been hoping his luck might have been turning after all.

United accepted a bid from the Hammers for Maguire, who also wanted McTominay. Had Kobbie Mainoo not been injured in pre-season, he could have gone. Instead, Ten Hag felt he had to keep him.

At just before 5pm on an unseasonably warm October day, two players who might be in the final throes of their United careers combined to buy Ten Hag the greatest commodity of all as a football manager; time.

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A couple of minutes earlier United were starring down the barrel of humiliation. They had trailed Brentford since the 26th minute and rarely looked like getting back in the game. For most of the second half, they were a broken team. Then on came McTominay to stitch them back together.

He came on in the 87th minute, equalised in the 93rd and won it in the 97th. What an impact. His wild-eyed celebration for his second goal showed how much this club means to McTominay. This has been a draining and difficult watch for the Old Trafford faithful for most of the afternoon. Now, the place erupted. The roar when McTominay's header hit the back of the net had the hairs on the back of your neck standing to attention.

He had first slammed in a smart finish to bring the scores level. Then Maguire rose highest to head Bruno Fernandes' free-kick back across goal and McTominay did the rest. Crisis