Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has hinted that both Omari Forson and Amad Diallo will have significant roles to play over the coming few weeks while Rasmus Hojlund is out injured.
Hojlund had scored seven goals in his last six Premier League appearances prior to suffering a “small” injury that ruled him out of facing Fulham on Saturday.
The Dane will miss up to three weeks and will be absent from games against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, and potentially Everton and Sheffield United too. It has already forced a reshuffle, pushing Marcus Rashford central, Alejandro Garnacho left and allowing Forson his full debut.
“I think it was reasonable,” Ten Hag told BBC Sport of Forson’s performance.
“He had some good actions. He was reliable in defending and had some good actions in possession. I saw, for his first time, he did well.”
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United fans have seen very little in 2023/24 of Amad, who played the final ten minutes against Fulham, because of a pre-season knee injury, but Ten Hag said the Ivorian is looking “very sharp”.
“I think it was a good sub [performance] from him. I think that’s good for the future,” the boss explained. “We need them because we have our problems in the frontline. So it’s about them, to show they can contribute to this team, that they can have an end product but also to show liability.”
Having said ahead of the game that Antony hasn’t shown his potential this season, Ten Hag confirmed that the £86m Brazilian has dropped below the others in the pecking order for now.
“He is fit but we have many options over on the right side,” the Dutchman said.
“We have a lack in other positions due to injury. With that form in the autumn, we have all seen, [Antony] has to step up. I see it in training, also others like Omari, Amad and Garnacho, and others they deserve to play.”
