Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag selected his first choice available team to beat Wigan in the FA Cup this week.
Erik ten Hag is not a manager who likes to rotate his team, especially not when there are be just three matches scheduled this month. If United had lost to Wigan, it would have been just the two games total.
This meant some fans hoping to see half a youth team line up against Wigan were disappointed, but there were some young players involved.
Ten Hag’s best team currently includes Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo. Both players amassed 60 per cent of the man of the match vote combined.
Youngsters Hannibal, Willy Kambwala and Omari Forson all came off the bench, with the latter making his debut.
Joe Hugill, Rhys Bennett, and Shola Shoretire were all on the bench. But there was no room for Isak Hansen-Aaroen.
Hansen-Aaroen upset
The day after the game, The MEN reported Hansen-Aaroen is upset at a lack of first team opportunities this season. He is yet to make his debut.
Hansen-Aaroen played in pre-season, impressing against Leeds. This has not translated into a call-up, and irregular game-time with the under-21s is doing little for his development, their last fixture was on December 16.
There could be chances in a later FA Cup round against Newport or Eastleigh, but Hansen-Aaroen is now reportedly considering his future, and United risk losing a big talent.
United making an error
What United have to take into account here is that Hansen-Aaroen had already played first team football for Tromso when he signed in 2020, featuring and assisting for their first team at just 15.
He spent a first Covid disrupted season in United’s academy then in his second year won the FA Youth Cup as part of a three-man midfield with Kobbie Mainoo and Dan Gore.
While both of those players have gone onto feature for the first team, Hansen-Aaroen is feeling left behind. Seeing his Norwegian colleague Oscar Bobb make his debut for City won’t have helped either.
“When the chance comes, you have to be ready,” he told VG earlier this season. But that opprtunity may not arrive.
It’s frustrating as Hansen-Aaroen is the type of ball playing midfielder United have lacked for so long, confident on the ball, creative, and able to have an impact in the final third. To let him leave Old Trafford without giving him a chance would be a tremendous failure, not only for Erik ten Hag, but for the coaches before him too.
United should be offering him a new deal with an extended loan. Hansen-Aaroen has been compared to Martin Odegaard in style, and the current Arsenal star is a player who Real Madrid will readily admit they mishandled early in his career.
The raw talent is there, which can be refined with competitive football. Not every young player can make it, but it feels like United have not been getting this one right. Last month United fans expressed hope that Hansen-Aaroen would get a chance, and the frustrations have continued after his FA Cup snub.
Supporters are right to be concerned that United are getting this one wrong. And while Hansen-Aaroen does feature in first team training pictures with other academy players, this is a situation which feels like it is trending one way. He might even now be reluctant to sign a new deal if one were offered, and move elsewhere, and that would be a great shame.
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