Ten Hag can repeat Martinez & De Ligt trick by dropping Man Utd “genius”

Erik ten Hag has long been criticised for playing favourites at Manchester United, having spent millions on his “own players” – as pundit Rafael van der Vaart has stated – who have all largely arrived amid some form of Dutch or Eredivisie connection.

That said, however, when the going has got tough, the Dutchman – to his credit – has not been afraid to turn back to those who are tried and tested in the Premier League, getting back to basics in the desire to grind out results.

Last season, in particular, the former Ajax boss was regularly bailed out by a certain Scott McTominay, with the Scotland international scoring ten times in all competitions, despite having looked set to depart in the summer of 2023.

The 27-year-old has now sought out pastures new in Naples, although the current campaign has again seen Ten Hag oust his new arrivals in favour of more experienced heads, with Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez having been ditched against Aston Villa last time out, in place of a centre-back pairing of Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans.

With the visit of Brentford now on the cards later today, the 54-year-old may need to be ruthless again with regard to his selection decisions, with getting a positive result simply a necessity amid the speculation surrounding him.

Man Utd’s centre-back pairing vs Brentford

At one stage Maguire looked a dead-cert to depart Old Trafford amid interest from West Ham United last summer, with the England international having tumbled down the pecking order in 2022/23 to the point at which he was finally stripped of the captaincy by Ten Hag.

As for Evans, the Northern Irishman was initially only signed on a short-term deal back in July 2023, having departed Leicester City at the end of the previous campaign, following the Foxes’ relegation and the expiry of his contract.

To think then that the two men would be lining up together in what was perhaps a crucial game for Ten Hag’s future against Villa is quite remarkable, with both having proven their worth over the past year or so.

Unfortunately, Maguire will be absent against the Bees due to injury, although the 36-year-old Evans – who has arguably been his manager’s ‘best signing’ – will likely be in the starting lineup once again, following his Man of the Match performance last time out.

The inclusion of that pair ahead of Martinez and De Ligt was a bold but ultimately successful call as United picked up a clean sheet at Villa Park, with the former Ajax duo having been punished for an error-strewn display in Porto, in which the visitors shipped three.

Ten Hag may then be inclined to make another brave decision further up the pitch later today, with the aim of trying to get his limp attacking unit firing.

The player Ten Hag should drop vs Brentford

The main man for so long at the Theatre of Dreams, Bruno Fernandes has not enjoyed the start to the season that he – nor the club – would have envisaged, particularly after signing a new deal over the summer.

The man who created the second-most ‘big chances’ (21) in the Premier League last season, the Portuguese playmaker has been surprisingly blunt in 2024/25 so far, chalking up just one assist and creating only two ‘big chances’. Equally, the 30-year-old was averaging 3.3 key passes per game last season – now that metric stands at just 0.9 per top-flight outing.

That slump has come despite the United “genius” – as hailed by his manager – lining up in such an advanced role off the main centre-forward, with things simply not clicking into gear like they previously have done during his time in Manchester.

Perhaps the midfielder’s struggles are merely a marker of the wider problems at the club and in the team, yet the former Sporting CP man’s woes do stretch to last season, having now failed to score in the top-flight since the win over Sheffield United back in April.

There was almost a sigh of relief when the £300k-per-week star was sent off against Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, with it looking as if he would finally be afforded a much-needed three-game break. The Premier League then, rightly it must be said, overturned that decision.

Another red card followed against Porto, perhaps outlining the frustration that is building within Fernandes regarding his own game. Something needs to give.

The lack of genuine competition to Fernandes has long been an issue, and with Mason Mount enduring continued injury woes, the options remain rather slim.

That said, Ten Hag’s desire to persist with his 4-2-2-2 or 4-2-4 formation could lend itself to trialling Joshua Zirkzee alongside Rasmus Hojlund instead, with Fernandes – who started both games for his country over the international break – able to make an impact off the bench.

In truth, at some stage United need to consider what a starting XI could look like without their captain in it, and with both his and the team’s form having slumped, now is a better time than ever.

Ten Hag saw the benefits of ruthlessly ‘rotating’ Martinez and De Ligt against Unai Emery’s side – now may be an opportunity to do the same with his skipper.