Scott McTominay’s future has been the source of plenty of debate in recent weeks - much of it involving Newcastle.
Whilst Erik ten Hag has been credited with reviving the fortunes of many Manchester United players, things haven’t quite worked out for academy graduate McTominay under the new manager. He has struggled to carve out a regular role in the side and has been heavily linked with a summer move to St James’ Park.
As so often happens in football, the stars aligned for McTominay to be handed a chance to either prove a point to Ten Hag or showcase himself to Eddie Howe with Casemiro suspended for the trip to Tyneside.
Fresh off the back of his heroics for Scotland in a shock win against Spain, McTominay was restored to the starting line-up with Fred dropped the bench as Marcel Sabitzer and Bruno Fernandes joined him in midfield.
And, as well as been trusted with just his second Premier League start since October, McTominay was handed a show of faith by Ten Hag which was quickly spotted by Gary Neville. Moments into the game, Neville noticed that McTominay was being deployed further forward in a bid to press and nullify Bruno Guimaraes.
“I think this will suit McTominay more,” Neville predicted. “Being able to play a more disruptive role, further up the pitch.”
Whilst a solid player for United in recent years, it's fair to say McTominay has occasionally struggled to carve out a role which makes him indispensable to United’s side. Ten Hag handed him a lifeline against Newcastle with the chance to show he can make a new role his own.
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"I think he [McTominay] can make a difference," Ten Hag told Sky Sports before the game. "He’s in a really good mood and hopefully, he takes that good momentum that he had with Scotland and brings it to [United] so we can benefit from it."
Unfortunately for McTominay, he struggled to stake his claim as Newcastle dominated the opening 45 minutes. As the home side drove forward at will, United's midfield struggled to get them up the pitch with McTominay further forward than Fernandes.
Whilst Neville was optimistic about the experiment early on, his prediction didn't age well as United lacked any real fluency with McTominay as a No.10 and Weghorst ahead of him. The tactic didn't seem to work with many United fans left scratching their heads.
The tactic was reversed at half-time, as Neville noticed immediately after the break that McTominay was back at the base of the midfield and in a role that is "much more natural to him".
Buoyed by his Scotland exploits, the 26-year-old knows the coming weeks could be make or break for his United future. Whilst Ten Hag looked to show he could yet make something happen for him, he was an intriguing case against the side who could give him an escape route should things not work out.
