Erik ten Hag offered two new lineup solutions to Manchester United’s Antony problem

Erik ten Hag has been offered two Manchester United lineup solutions on the right wing amidst Antony’s poor displays.

Antony, 23, was replaced at Craven Cottage against Fulham on Saturday after a dismal display that left the travelling United support appearing to boo his exit from the field.

He has not managed to adapt to the Premier League in the way that Ten Hag would’ve liked due to multiple different reasons.

But now, without Jadon Sancho available either, there are scarce options on the right-hand side of United’s attack. A scaringly familiar sentence after more than £150 million was spent on the issue in recent transfer windows.

Whilst Facundo Pellistri offered brilliant workrate and desire to help The Reds score their late winner against Marco Silva’s side, he still appears to do his best work coming from the bench.

In an attempt to solve the problem on the right wing, Rio Ferdinand and former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole have discussed alternative options to Antony for Ten Hag.

Firstly, Cole suggested moving Mason Mount to the right side after struggles of pinning down a spot in the midfield three. It is a position that he often played for his former side Chelsea.

“Erik ten Hag described him as the perfect midfielder when he signed him and that player is still there. Sometimes it’s difficult when you’ve been at a club for a long time and you need to settle in,” started Cole whilst speaking on TNT Sports.

“Maybe you play Mason in off one side and Marcus [Rashford] on the other side and then I think you have the start of experience, power and pace in your front three and Mason can score goals, we’ve seen that before, important goals.

“He will be a big player for Manchester United at some point. I think playing him further forward, off that right-hand side, let him settle in and things could look bright for him.”

Ferdinand, who played with some devastating attacking players during his time at Old Trafford, agreed with the idea of his colleague but also believed that switching Alejandro Garnacho to the opposite wing could also be a solution to the problem on the right side.

“I think that wide right area is the conundrum at the moment for the manager, there’s no one in that area that jumps off the page,” said Ferdinand.

“Garnacho seems to prefer it off the left but I think Garnacho could be one you put out on the right if you want that pace on the outside.

“But Mason’s got that experience, he knows how to score and create goals. He’s done that at the highest level for Chelsea consistently.

“I think that takes a bit of pressure off him. Playing in one of those three midfield positions in the middle probably adds a bit of pressure [whereas] playing on the right-hand side, you can say ‘get a bit of freedom’, you can get chalk on your boots and get wide or come inside and have that freedom.

“He has great end product, put him there, let him get on the end of a few things and get some confidence and I think you’ll get the Mason Mount we saw in a blue shirt for Chelsea.”