Erik ten Hag faces a tough test against Nottingham Forest as Manchester United’s midfield struggles

After a tumultuous week off the field, Erik ten Hag will welcome the focus switching back to what happens on the pitch for 90 minutes against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Manchester United’s start to the season has been far from smooth. The handling of the Mason Greenwood investigation and the ongoing uncertainty of the club’s takeover has only added to the side’s far from convincing start to the Premier League campaign.

Following a fortunate win against Wolves on the opening weekend, United got what they deserved against Tottenham for their charitable finishing in front of goal and their virtually non-existent midfield. With 12 months under his belt in the job, improvements were expected from Ten Hag and his side this season. This was, after all, supposed to be the first time Ten Hag has had a squad to pick from that was formed in his image.

This summer was different. Ten Hag was backed in the transfer market, with the club spending £170m on Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund. All three were signed before the opening weekend of the season, just as Ten Hag had requested. Without wanting to put too much pressure on the shoulders of the 20-year-old Hojlund, Ten Hag said Onana and Mount would help transform his side’s ‘approach’ and to create the type of front-foot, possession-based side he had planned on creating at the club.

Onana has impressed but Mount’s arrival has unbalanced United’s midfield

Though Onana has impressed, any sign of Mount’s positive impact has been in short supply. In fact, there’s enough evidence to suggest the 24-year-old’s arrival has upset the balance of United’s midfield. Against Wolves and Spurs, Casemiro has been left isolated with Mount and Bruno Fernandes ahead of him as roaming 8s.

Ten Hag resisted the temptation to bring Scott McTominay into the side for the trip to Tottenham. The Scot would have sat alongside Casemiro, reducing the gaps between midfield and attack. But McTominay is a symbol of the past that Ten Hag wants to move away from. A figure of the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era that relied on reactive, rather than proactive football.

Mount’s injury could be a fatal blow to Ten Hag’s mission

But if the defeat at Spurs weakened Ten Hag’s mission to usher in a new style of play, Mount’s injury could be the fatal blow. The midfielder is set to be sidelined for at least a month through injury and it leaves Ten Hag in a precarious position. The Dutchman proved to be surprisingly pragmatic last season, both in how his team played and who he selected. Plans to play out from the back were quickly dropped after the 4-0 drubbing at Brentford, with David De Gea told to go long in the follow-up victory against Liverpool a week later. Cristiano Ronaldo was retained and initially appeased due to his reluctance to press from the front. Fred, Marcel Sabitzer and Wout Weghorst made 105 appearances between them. None of them remain at the club.

Ten Hag’s decisions in the transfer market were made with a view to pushing United on this season, to become a side closer to what he made in Amsterdam. But how will he balance his long-term goals with the reality of the short-term? Saturday will give us the answer.

Conclusion

Erik ten Hag faces a tough test against Nottingham Forest as Manchester United’s midfield struggles. With Mason Mount out injured for at least a month, Ten Hag must find a way to balance his long-term goals with the reality of the short-term if he is to get United back on track this season.