Ten Hag explains main reason why this Manchester United player isn't playing

The Premier League is back, and Manchester United will look to bounce back from their previous league game, where the Red Devils lost 2-1 to Nottingham Forest. United will play a strong Tottenham with a different look. Spurs have brought in two players this winter transfer window and look to play them for the game at Old Trafford.

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Timo Werner and Radu Dragusin will likely be a part of the squad when they play Manchester United. Spurs can leap high in the table with a win against United and will be motivated to get the three points despite missing Heung-min Son.

On the other hand, Manchester United sits 8th in the Premier League table with 31 points, and a win can help them move up to 7th. United are desperate to pick up points, and Erik Ten Hag will want to use the FA Cup 2-0 win against Wigan as motivation. Ten Hag has been struggling to incorporate a few players who are in bad form.

One of these players has been Antony Santos, who has no goal contributions this season in the Premier League and the Champions League. Antony started in the Nottingham Forest 2-1 loss in late December but was not part of the squad in the FA Cup 2-0 win against Wigan.

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Ten Hag explains Antony`s lack of game time is due to off-field issues

The Dutch manager explained to the press about Antony's lack of game time. The Brazilian has been showing some poor performances this season, and the manager backs shows him support due to the reasons. Ten Hag explains that “his off-field issues stop him playing.”

“I think the first year was OK, and I think in the pre-season, he was very OK. The first four games were very good. He was out, and then he came back, and he didn't deliver the performance we should expect from him,” added Ten Hag.