With plenty of the heavy hitters in the Manchester United squad away at the World Cup, the mini tour of Spain this month was a huge opportunity for younger members of the team.
Players like Zidane Iqbal and Teden Mengi will have been pleased to have received trust from Erik ten Hag even if the latter's match against Real Betis was cut short after 19 minutes. However, some of the United youngsters who flew out could rightly feel frustrated that they were not given more minutes against La Liga opposition this week.
MEN Sport has picked out two players who might feel they deserved to be given more of a chance by Ten Hag before the full squad returns in just over a week's time.
ALSO READ: Ten Hag claims United got a big win from training week
Marc Jurado
The player who perhaps has the biggest grievance to air after the trip to Europe is Jurado. The right-back played just under an hour across the two matches.
It might not seem a bad run-out for him, but then consider the fact that Aaron Wan-Bissaka played the majority of the time in Spain. Wan-Bissaka's future at Old Trafford seems non-existent after Ten Hag previously opted to play Tyrell Malacia out of position rather than give the Englishman minutes in competitive fixtures.
Therefore, it seems a shame that Ten Hag did not use the tour as an opportunity to give Jurado some much-needed experience against quality opposition. United's manager will no doubt have his reasons for sticking with Wan-Bissaka, - perhaps the defender is in line to face Burnley or maybe he's being kept fit for a possible exit - but at present it seems to be a mystifying decision.
Shola Shoretire
While Jurado's involvement with the first team has been extremely limited up until now, Shoretire has been fortunate enough to be in and around the senior squad for some time. The English winger has been a part of training on several occasions and has made three, albeit brief, Premier League appearances.
Anthony Elanga no doubt deserved to start in front of him against Cadiz with the Swede higher up the pecking order at present. But, it seems a shame that Shoretire wasn't given the opportunity to start versus Real Betis either.
Two half-time substitute appearances is not a disaster for Shoretire but he may feel that he has come to a minor crossroads when deciding his next steps. The 18-year-old has seen Alejandro Garnacho overtake him in Ten Hag's first-team plans so perhaps a Championship loan move could be beneficial for his future development, helping him in the same way it has benefitted Amad at Sunderland.
READ NEXT:
