Ten Hag needs to hand 21-year-old Man Utd gem his chance to shine vs Forest after injury blow

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Manchester United were hit with a huge injury blow ahead of their FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest, how should Erik ten Hag solve it?

Bruno Fernandes for the first time in his Manchester United career, is looking like he could miss a game through injury according to club media.

This absence for Erik ten Hag is substantial and will be a serious blow to his hopes of lifting the FA Cup this season.

Fernandes is an ever-present figure behind the striker and without him, as Mason Mount remains injured there isn’t a clear option to come in.

Scott McTominay is probably the most likely choice – as we chose in our predicted line-up – although he offers such a different thing to Fernandes that there should be better options.

One option is Amad Diallo who has long been tipped as an excellent option in attacking midfield, so this could be the perfect chance to try him out.

• READ MORE: Who is Bruno Fernandes? Inside the life of Manchester United’s Portuguese Magnifico

Erik ten Hag should use Amad Diallo as Bruno Fernandes replacement

Amad hasn’t had the season he would have hoped for upon returning from Sunderland last summer. Sidelined by an injury until the back end of 2023 he has barely featured, even while being fit.

But this past weekend he emerged from the bench ahead of Antony which suggests he could be in line for substantial minutes against Forest in the cup.

But while common thinking would be that these minutes would come on the right, perhaps using him down the middle would be better in the absence of Fernandes.

Immensely technical and creative, Amad’s qualities and strengths lend themselves well to playing in the 10 position and he’s long been considered as having a future in that position.

So with little other chance to do so, Ten Hag should try this theory out in this game while he is missing the usual starter anyway.

Manchester United could also use Christian Eriksen for this role

Another – albeit more obvious – option for this role is Christian Eriksen who was impressive when he entered the game on Saturday.

Eriksen created four chances in just 37 minutes – as per FotMob – outperforming Fernandes despite sitting in a deeper role.

Due to this, Eriksen may be the best and safest option to replace Fernandes’ creativity in the attacking midfield position.

All that being said, Fernandes is only a doubt according to Ten Hag which could mean he plays anyway, risking aggravating his injury.