Erik ten Hag has explained why Jadon Sancho is starting ahead of Wout Weghorst for Manchester United’s clash against Brentford.
The Red Devils host the Bees on Wednesday night looking to bounce back after their poor defeat at Newcastle last Sunday.
Ten Hag was expected to ring the changes to his United team but has made just one alteration from the side that struggled against the Magpies, with the under fire Weghorst replaced by Sancho.
The Dutch striker has come under much criticism recently but seemed to be undroppable, having started every game for United since moving to Old Trafford in January.
Sancho by contrast has been hit and miss this season and has even been tipped to leave United in the summer just two years after his big money transfer from Borussia Dortmund.
The 23-year-old is expected to start on the left-wing with Antony again on the right while Marcus Rashford moves into the centre-forward role.
Speaking to MUTV ahead of kick-off, Ten Hag said that Sancho was picked for: ‘Creativity. Jadon has made good progress since he came back.
‘You know he can play the final pass, he can make action one-on-one, he can move in behind and score a goal, so that’s the reason why.’
Explaining his decision to make just one change for Brentford, the manager added: ‘That can be the reflex, when you play one bad game to swap a lot, but I don’t think it’s the right moment.
‘If it would be structural, it would be different, but of course, I think we play until now, a great league. We are in four competitions, so we’ve done really well, so there’s not a need to change a lot because we’re doing well.
‘But I think we have to reflect on Sunday and that was not us. We fell back into bad habits and we have to change that.’
Meanwhile, Thomas Frank has also made one change to his Brentford side from the one that drew 3-3 at Brighton last Saturday, with Mads Roerslev replacing Aaron Hickey at right-wingback.
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