Man United take on West Ham United in their next Premier League game and there have been slight doubts over the availability of Scott McTominay.
McTominay missed the Aston Villa due to suspension but once he was available for selection, the midfielder came straight back into the side. And his return to the side marked a stark improvement in Man United’s performance.
United looked a lot more in command(particularly in the 2nd half) against Brentford and one of the main reasons why they performed so well was because of the 25-year-old. But towards the end of the match, he had to be taken off due to a back injury.
Rangnick: "Exemplary in that second half was Scott McTominay, he won almost all second balls."#MUFC
— Laurie Whitwell (@lauriewhitwell) January 19, 2022
Scott McTominay has been riddled with back trouble in the past so this injury was initially a cause of concern but speaking after the match, Ralf Rangnick had claimed that the knock is not serious.
The manager told after the press after the Brentford game: “He got a knock on the back and couldn’t breathe properly. I spoke to him in the locker room [after] and he should be okay for Saturday.”
Should Scott McTominay be protected or is he a guaranteed starter vs the Hammers?
Under the new boss, Fred has been given the license to move forward a lot more so Scott McTominay was mostly on his own, defending against the Brentford attacks. And for more of the game, the Scottish international did a brilliant job.
Scott McTominay has completed 43/53 take-ons this season in all competitions — an incredible successful rate of 81.1%.
Only Nemanja Matić (22/27 – 81.4%) has a higher success rate this season for Manchester United. pic.twitter.com/Dna5RhWOr9
— UtdArena (@utdarena) January 20, 2022
The midweek win showed how badly he was missed during the Aston Villa game and as per the latest reports, Scott McTonimany will start against West Ham United as well.
It seems the knock was very minor and the midfielder has no major problems whatsoever. So he will once again pair up with Fred as the double pivot.
Like Ole, Rangnick has also put his faith in the pairing of McTominay and Fred but unlike the Norwegian, the interim boss has given the two midfielders the freedom to join in on attacks.
Fred can be seen playing in and around the final third a lot more while Scott McTominay has been making darting runs(with and without the ball) into open spaces whenever he gets a chance.
