Mason Mount injury could give forgotten Manchester United player chance to change club's transfer plan

Scott McTominay has proven to be something of a forgotten man for Manchester United since the start of the new season.

Erik ten Hag has been posed with problems in midfield throughout the opening two games of the season, yet has been reluctant to use McTominay. The Reds escaped with three points against Wolves but similar issues were exposed in their defeat to Spurs as United struggled to find the correct balance in order to offer the necessary protection to Casemiro.

Turning to the bench in search of solutions, Ten Hag has opted for Christian Eriksen ahead of the Scotland international. The Reds were thought to be open to offers for the 26-year-old before an injury to rising prospect Kobbie Mainoo saw the club reconsider.

Though he may have fallen down the pecking order, McTominay has been given the perfect opportunity to prove his worth to the United boss.

READ: Manchester United planning for at least one incoming and outgoings before transfer deadline

Mason Mount is sidelined for the club’s next two games with Nottingham Forest and Arsenal, putting a spot up for grabs in the starting XI. If defensive grit and box-to-box energy is what is missing from United’s side, McTominay is unquestionably better suited to the vacancy than Eriksen.

Given a late cameo against Wolves and unused against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United legend Gary Neville questioned the club’s reluctance to rely on the academy graduate: “What is clear is that Ten Hag doesn't want to revert back to Scott McTominay,” he said after the defeat to Spurs. “ With Fernandes on the right, the midfield looks all over the place and the front three doesn't look capable of functioning as one.”

In terms of McTominay’s future at Old Trafford, Neville