Erik ten Hag told to give “fearless” Man United player more opportunities after Bournemouth draw

Erik ten Hag has been told to give one “fearless” Manchester United player more opportunities after the club’s 2-2 draw against Bournemouth.

The Reds were disappointing on Saturday evening, losing points for the sixth time in their last seven Premier League games.

After a dismal first half, there were slight improvements in the second 45 minutes despite still not being strong enough to warrant a victory at the Vitality Stadium.

One of the players key to much of United’s good work in the second half was Amad Diallo, who was brought on at the interval for Alejandro Garnacho.

Amad, 21, offered a level of maturity on the ball that many of his senior teammates lack. He also made some incisive passes and runs into the final third.

Read More: Why Alejandro Garnacho was subbed at half-time vs Bournemouth

While it was not a show-stopping performance, Amad’s cameo was described as “fearless” by former United defender Phil Bardsley.

Bardsley believes that the young winger deserves more chances under Erik ten Hag and that he’s putting pressure on those starting.

“Big fan, yeah,” he said on MUTV. “His attitude, his application, you know he’s direct, he’s fearless when he comes on. Obviously, it’s not an easy game to come into but I think he made a bit of a difference today.

“He’s got good pace, he’s got good technical ability, and he’s fighting for his place in that team now and putting players under pressure to get a regular start.”

Amad scored the winning goal against Liverpool in the FA Cup last month to send Ten Hag’s side to the semi-finals of the competition.

He was unavailable for the following fixture against Brentford after being suspended for his celebrations against Liverpool and was an unused substitution against Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League afterwards.