Ten Hag backs Onana despite more struggles in Man Utd defeat
Erik ten Hag could drop Casemiro for the first time this season when Manchester United host Brentford at Old Trafford on Saturday, according to Paul Merson. United will aim to stop the rot and enter the October international break in winning style, but Ten Hag faces some big decisions.
The Red Devils have endured their worst-ever start to a Premier League season, losing four of the opening seven games to slump in 10th on nine points.
Ten Hag’s woes worsened on Tuesday when calamitous defending helped Galatasaray triumph 3-2 in M16, inflicting back-to-back defeats at the start of a Champions League campaign for the first time in the club’s history.
United will slip into the bottom half of the Premier League if they lose a third successive home game – and a fourth in five – on Saturday.
Merson believes it’s time for Ten Hag to swing the axe and make significant decisions to drag his side out of their current rut.
One of which involves dropping Casemiro to the bench and handing summer signing Sofyan Amrabat a chance in midfield.
The 27-year-old stepped up to cover United’s left-back injury crisis but was targeted in the defeats to Crystal Palace and Galatasaray.
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And Merson wants to see Amrabat – who United have the option to sign permanently at the end of the season – play in the position he arrived for against Brentford.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they left Casemiro out here – you’ve got to give Amrabat a chance in midfield,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“They left him out to dry against Galatasaray – it’s a waste of time, and it shouldn’t be happening.”
Casemiro was named United’s Player of the Month for September but was ultimately picked from a bad bunch amid a disastrous run of results.
Merson has also raised doubts about Andre Onana, who caused Casemiro’s red card against Galatasaray for a careless pass, resulting in Mauro Icardi’s missed penalty.
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He has been poor since his reunion with Ten Hag in a £47million deal from Inter Milan, conceding 18 goals in his first 10 appearances while committing high-profile blunders.
Ten Hag released David de Gea in favour of a goalkeeper more suited to his playing style, but the huge call has, so far, not paid off.
Merson, who has predicted an underwhelming 1-1 draw on Saturday, added: “David de Gea won the Golden Glove last season, and it isn’t like he was letting in a million goals.
“Andre Onana has already made his fair share of errors. I want my goalkeepers to save shots – I’m not worried about how good he is with his feet.
“Onana’s struggling at the moment and is trying to make passes that are not on. He’s just got to get the simple things right.”
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