That&aposs not all his fault, though. While the buck ultimately stops with the manager and it will be his neck on the line if results and performances don&apost dramatically improve in a crucial part of the season, it can&apost be forgotten just how ravaged his side has been.
Most Premier League sides have experienced some key injuries this season but Manchester United have been hit particularly hard. Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez have been long-term absentees while the entirety of the first-choice back four has often been unavailable and casualties have been felt in midfield and up-front as well.
Jadon Sancho and Antony&aposs absences weren&apost due to injury but United have gone into the game with 12 players unavailable this season. Any team in the world would struggle with so many players out of action.
Perhaps one of the most ill-timed of all the injuries was the one suffered by Amad in pre-season, a knee problem that has ruled him out up until now. The youngster&aposs absence clearly hasn&apost been felt as much as the likes of Shaw and Martinez given he hasn&apost played competitively under Ten Hag but that could have changed this year.
Amad was exceptional on loan at Sunderland last season, with his thrilling attacking play and goals firing the Black Cats to a play-off finish. He was one of the Championship&aposs best players and had certainly earned a chance to show if he could make the jump to the Premier League at Old Trafford.
That was before United&aposs troubles on the flank exploded, too. Now, he would be a very handy addition indeed. Sancho looks likely to never play for the club again following his bust-up with Ten Hag, Antony missed five games on a leave of absence and has been dreadful when on the pitch and Faunco Pellistri has looked bright but clearly isn&apost deemed ready for regular first-team football just yet.
Had Amad been fit there was bound to have been opportunities for him to play. One thing going in the Ivorian&aposs favour is that it remains the case as he nears a return to action. Amad has been pictured in training for weeks now and though there has been no official update it&aposs certainly promising that he&aposs out on the grass. With any luck, his comeback won&apost be too far away.
It would be a boost to Ten Hag as, if he can get back to his form of last season and perform for United, Amad has the potential to solve two problems. The obvious one is the right-wing slot. Surprisingly given it&aposs his weakest position, Marcus Rashford has actually played his best football of the season on the right and was beginning to relieve the issue there.
But with Ramsus Hojlund now injured, he may be tasked with leading the line once more given the only other option is Anthony Martial. That, in turn, would leave the flank open for Amad to take. Antony certainly hasn&apost done anything to deserve a recall.
