Ten Hag makes clear he thinks Man Utd made £50m mistake

Erik ten Hag made six changes against Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday, but one of Ole Gunnar Solkjaer’s £50m players still can’t get near the team.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro – an €80 million summer arrival from Real Madrid – were handed rare starts against Sociedad, with club captain Harry Maguire also given a reprieve at centre-back.

United were the better side for much of the 90 minutes but their lost their Group E opener after a controversial Brais Mendez penalty. But that Lisandro Martinez was even on the pitch to concede it was a talking point in itself.

The Red Devils started the game with Maguire partnered by Victor Lindelof in central defence, with Diogo Dalot and Tyrell Malacia playing at full-back despite both playing for 90 minutes of United’s 3-1 win over Arsenal last Sunday.

With Dalot struggling with injury at half-time, Ten Hag decided to make a substitution. But instead of putting on fellow right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, he sent Martinez into the fray, with Lindelof moving out to right-back for the second half.

Anything but Wan-Bissaka

Ten Hag also brought Bruno Fernandes on for Christian Eriksen at half-time and made three further substitutions as the game wore on. But still no Wan-Bissaka.

“Of course, Aaron Wan-Bissaka will stay in,” Ten Hag said when pushed on the defender’s future before the summer window slammed shut. “So, this squad, we will go from September to minimum January, but we will play with this squad this season.”

But Wan-Bissaka still appears to just be along for the ride. Signed for £50m/€58m from Crystal Palace in 2019 when Solskjaer was still manager, the former England under-21 right-back has featured for just four Premier League minutes this season.

Palace were linked with a move for Wan-Bissaka in the recent transfer window, and the Eagles could surely get him for less than the €37m he is rated at by Football Transfers’ inhouse algorithm – especially now that January now looks like a maximum, and not a minimum, for him.

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