It’s not usual for Manchester United to have a gap of more than a week between their two games but that’s exactly the case with their upcoming game against Wigan.
The FA Cup fixture against Wigan on December 8th is after almost 10 days and Erik ten Hag’s obsession with getting “patterns” right means he’s not under any duress to rotate heavily.
However, it would be a missed opportunity if he didn’t explore the academy options for this fixture against League One opposition as there’s a superstar-in-the-making prospect waiting for his chance there.
Omari Forson has taken youth football by storm this season, absolutely bossing the game at that level.
Seven goals and two assists, while not even playing as a striker, is a ridiculous output from the 19-year-old attacker.
It’s time that he’s rewarded for tearing it up in the academy, even more so because he can be the answer to multiple problem positions.
As a left-footed right-winger, it is criminal by Ten Hag that he hasn’t even made many matchday squads, considering Antony’s poor form, to put it politely.
Furthermore, he has experience playing as the No 10 in a 4-2-3-1, a position which is captured by Bruno to such an extent that he is rarely rested.
Even if Ten Hag doesn’t want to rest Bruno (he should), and Amad’s promising cameo against Forest probably earns him more minutes (it should), Forson’s breakout is easy to envision.
That’s because he is so versatile that he has even played on the left, where he takes advantage of his pace and trickery to play an old-school winger’s game.
Rashford and Garnacho have rarely been rested on their own accord, with only Rashford missing some games but that was due to his own poor form rather than calculated rest.
If Rasmus Hojlund comes back into the team up front, then United could do a lot worse than resting the duo on the left and unleashing Forson.
With Amad cutting inside from the right and Forson stretching the defence on the left, it will add an angle that United’s predictable attack just hasn’t had the whole season.
Marcus Rashford broke out because Louis Van Gaal trusted his youth, and there were injuries to Will Keane, James Wilson, and Anthony Martial.
Currently, the injury situation isn’t as bad up front, but the form question is bigger than it has ever been.
Introducing fresh blood eager to prove himself and grab a chance by the scruff of the neck is the way to go, especially against a level of opposition Forson is arguably already good enough to go up against.
He’s ready, he just needs a manager brave enough to unleash him. It is the kind of game that saves clubs millions in the transfer market while creating an asset for their academy as well.
