Erik ten Hag may well have found his Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Man United

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Erik ten Hag may well have discovered his own Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Manchester United this season.

Manchester United picked up a crucial 2-1 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park with a late goal from Scott McTominay handing the Red Devils a vital three points in the race for a spot in the Champions League.

The decision to bring McTominay on could well have been a massive mistake made by Erik ten Hag, with Villa beginning to edge the midfield battle, but the Dutchman was proven right as McTominay headed in the winning goal with five minutes to go.

In recent weeks, with the emergence of Kobbie Mainoo, the Scottish midfielder has been relegated to a substitute option, and this may well be the role he plays between now and the end of the season.

Ten Hag’s Solskjaer

Sir Alex Ferguson brought Ole Gunnar Solskjaer into United during the late stages of the 1990s and the Norwegian striker was a superb option off the bench.

Solskjaer famously netted the winning goal against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. However, what made him so important to Ferguson wasn’t just his goalscoring, it was his willingness to play anywhere the manager wanted, and be relatively content with his limited minutes.

With McTominay, Ten Hag now has a similar option for United and this could be vital for the Red Devils moving forward with the Scottish midfielder netting once again from the bench. In addition to scoring, he can fill in several midfield roles, defence, – and who knows, perhaps even up front.

This season for United, four out of the seven goals he has netted in the Premier League have been from the bench, which further shows how important he has been when a change has been needed to rescue a game.

McTominay can start games for the Red Devils but having an option like that, who has improved his finishing drastically this season, could well be huge moving forward for the remainder of the season.

McTominay is a valuable asset

There were reports in the summer that United were prepared to allow McTominay to leave, per The Mail, but at this moment in time, having a player like that on the bench could be a season definer.

Selling him in the summer would have been a mistake. Having players who produce key moments for United from the bench is huge for a club hoping to do big things towards the end of the season.

McTominay has also won his side 12 points in the league this season because of his goals, according to Opta. The 26-year-old could well be Ten Hag’s Solskjaer.