'Not good enough' - Erik ten Hag sends out warning to Alejandro Garnacho after Man Utd's Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace

The 19-year-old has made six appearances this season and he scored his first goal of the campaign in the 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace. His start against the Eagles marked his third of the season, having started the opening two Premier League games, and been benched since.

Ten Hag has now warned the teenager that his performances earlier this season were not up to scratch, insisting that he simply was not good enough. It comes amid an ongoing spat with Jadon Sancho; Ten Hag publicly called the England international out, and he responded by insisting he was being made a "scapegoat".

Ten Hag said after the win over Palace: “You have seen at the start of the season we played him and then his contribution was not good enough.

“But he also had some good actions. You see always he is a threat in the game even when he is not playing that well.

“He has to learn when he does his job in defending he will always have his moment and he will always be decisive because he has great qualities.

“As well, it’s not only off the ball. But I want to see like today, he is entering the box in the right spot to finish. But I think it is quite normal for a player of his age that there is space for a lot of improvement.

“Everyone likes him, the fans like him, the team likes him, I like him but we also have to demand from him and push him because he can act on a very high level but he has to show it every day.”

United face Palace again in the Premier League this weekend.