Erik ten Hag explains two reasons why Harry Amass was left out of Man United squad vs Man City

Erik ten Hag has explained two reasons why Harry Amass was left out of the Manchester United squad against Manchester City.

Amass, 17, made a strong impression during the pre-season tour in America and was expected to feature at Wembley due to the absences of Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.

The young left-back travelled with the United squad to London but was surprisingly left out of the matchday squad, as Ten Hag chose Lisandro Martínez to start on the left side of the defence instead.

Amass’s exclusion from the squad was unexpected. Despite his age, the teenager stood out in pre-season, and United’s bench lacked natural defenders.

The 17-year-old was present at Wembley and participated in the warm-up with the team. He continued to gain valuable pre-match experience, but it seems he’s not yet deemed ready for competitive first-team action.

When asked about Amass being left out after the game, Ten Hag admitted that the ‘seniority’ in the squad was important.

He also explained that he wanted to see how players like Martínez and Facundo Pellistri would play out of their natural positions.

“I think we had some seniority there,” Ten Hag told reporters. “To start, I think that was the idea. We had a plan how to deal with it and I think also that went how we thought.

“I think all the full-backs, although not all were full-backs, like Licha, he did good as a full back. Diogo is the full-back, and Facundo did well as the full-back. We are pleased with those performances.

“You need squad depth, you need players who can play in multi-functional positions and when there is an emergency you have to have the option to play players to play in different positions.

“They (Martinez and Pellistri) are both capable. That is not their best position, but maybe it can grow into their best position for the team.”

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