Erik ten Hag has told Manchester United winger Amad he is finally close to earning a starting place – perhaps against Burnley on Saturday.
Amad, who came off the bench to score a dramatic late winner in United's epic 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final win over arch-rivals Liverpool last month, has yet to start a game this season. Despite fellow wingers Marcus Rashford and Antony enduring miserable campaigns, Amad – who was out from August to December with a knee injury – has had to be patient.
But the 21-year-old has impressed in seven substitute appearances, with Ten Hag admitting the Ivory Coast star deserves his chance to add to his three starts for United, which came in 2021, before loan spells at Rangers and Sunderland. Denying he has shown blind loyalty and favouritism to under-performing duo Rashford and Antony, Ten Hag claimed other players – Amad in particular – will get their chance to shine.
“First of all, Amad had a very bad injury, so for a long period in this season he was out and wasn’t available,” said Ten Hag. “But he returned and needed some time to get back, to get match fit. He needed training and, in some areas, he needed to catch up. So it’s fair now that he gets his minutes.
“He has to keep fighting, set his performances in the minutes he gets - not gets, but deserves, and from there you get your position in the starting line-up. Amad is doing really well, but we have a lot of competition in the front line and I know, with front players especially, you have to give them trust.
“But they also have to prove it and there comes a certain point when things turn around and go against them. If you assess, you say Antony played a very good game against Chelsea, for instance, but then from a low perspective I didn’t play him against Liverpool.
“He also played very well against Newport, but then I put him on the bench in the game after. So there's always a thin line between giving them trust, but there comes a point where other players will get more chances, that's clear.”
United's hopes of claiming fourth spot and a Champions League space are all but over, with Aston Villa 13 points clear with four games left to play. To snatch fourth spot, United must win their remaining five games and hope Villa pick up a solitary point in their four, along with fifth-place Tottenham also imploding.
Despite that, Ten Hag is convinced United would have challenged for the top four had they not suffered so many injuries to key players this season. “This year we stand still, but when everyone is available, definitely we're competing for the top-four, I’m confident of that,” said Ten Hag.
“Although I have to say it's not just a two or three-horse race in the Premier League. There's Villa, there's Spurs, there's Newcastle. So many good teams, who all can compete. We're one of them but we're not, at this moment, in a position to compete No.1 or No.2, that's a fact.
“But we can come closer if we make a good window. We have to strengthen in key positions and also in the depth of the squad, which is one of the lessons from this season.”
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