Ex-Man Utd star says Erik ten Hag HAS to drop big-money summer signing for crucial Premier League clash vs Aston Villa
A FORMER Manchester United star demanded Erik ten Hag to ditch a big-money summer signing.
The Red Devils head to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon after four games without a win.
ReutersOwen Hargreaves reckons a Manchester United star needs to be dropped from the starting XI[/caption]
Draws with Crystal Palace and FC Twente were followed by the 3-0 hammering at home to Tottenham last weekend.
And then despite leading 2-0 at Porto on Thursday, Ten Hag needed a 91st-minute Harry Maguire header to salvage a last-gasp draw.
The pressure continues to mount on the Dutch manager – and a trip to Villa Park to take on the high-flying Champions League side is instilling fear into plenty of United fans.
And one ex-Red Devils man has called on Ten Hag to make a big selection change.
Owen Hargreaves believes Matthijs de Ligt needs to be brought out of the starting XI – and replaced by Thursday’s hero Maguire.
He told TNT Sports: “Harry will play at the weekend against Villa.
“I think he’ll have to.
“De Ligt struggled today, Samu (Omorodion, who scored twice for Porto) is a super explosive and powerful player.
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“But Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran… that’s not going to get any easier. So he’s got some big calls to make.”
De Ligt was caught out for Porto’s equaliser as Omorodion beat him in the air to thunder a header past Andre Onana, leaving the ex-Bayern defender thumping the turf in frustration.
He then lost Omorodion again as the Porto striker fired in his side’s third.
Ten Hag changed both centre-backs – De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez – and replaced them with Maguire and Jonny Evans in the closing stages.
De Ligt put pen to paper on a £195,000-a-week contract as part of a £42.7million transfer from Bayern this summer.
He scored in the 3-0 win at Southampton but has struggled to make his mark defensively – conceding three against Liverpool, Tottenham and now Porto.
On the international stage, he suffered a nightmare double header in September when he was at fault for three goals against Bosnia and Germany.
That prompted his X-rated reaction, saying: “I think you know how I feel, we won but then comes the individual part.
“I should have done better at their second goal, and I know that. I don’t really know what happened.
“I should have cleared the ball but I kept having doubts during the play. It’s just f***ed.
“If this game is a missed opportunity for me? I don’t know, I just try to do my best.”
EPAMatthijs de Ligt was undone by Samu Omorodion for the equaliser[/caption]
ReutersOmorodion got the better of De Ligt again for the third[/caption]
APHarry Maguire rescued United with a last-gasp equaliser[/caption]
APTen Hag has a big call to make about his new defender[/caption]
