Whatever happens to United before the end of the season, coach Erik ten Hag can at least point to the rise of Hojlen, Garnacho and Mainou as a highlight to remember this season.
The trio sat on a billboard in front of the Strayford area in United's 3-0 win over West Ham on Sunday, with Garnacho netting United's second goal. Ten Hag wants the image to remain on communication and social media 10 years from now – a first glimpse of the player who will become the heart of the next great Manchester United team. But for now, it's enough for them to give Ten Hag the rare comfort of a day at Old Trafford.
Hjlund scored back-to-back goals for his fourth Premier League game on his 21st birthday, while Garnacho netted two more goals as United won comfortably; It was the first time this season that United had won by more than one goal in the Premier League at home.
At times, performances this season have been incredible, and even for Ten Hag, a positive afternoon has been accompanied by a downside. This is a big problem as defender Lisandro Martinez has just recovered from a foot injury and has been forced off with a knee injury. With Martinez, Casemiro and Luke Shaw recovering from injury, United have started to look like last season's third-placed team, and the last thing Ten Hag needs is to get back into trouble without Martinez.
Despite some dismal results this season, Manchester United are still in contention for FA Cup and Champions League qualification. Just as important as H Jlund continues to score goals and Mainoo continues to excel, they also need Martinez and Casemiro to stay fit.
I'm not telling you that we've reached where we want to be, but you can see the potential,' said Ten Hag. 'We see the potential of those players (Hjlund, Garnacho and Mainoo) but they need to play. They need experience and the only way to gain experience is to play in the first team.
They have the right attitude and when you have the attitude of wanting to improve every day, I'm sure they can reach a high level, but they need experienced players who have achieved everything to help them.
You have to be creative when certain locations are not available. We had to adapt at certain points in the season to form a squad. Now, the danger comes from Licha Martinez, so I hope we don't go backwards. It's not about 11 players, it's about 15 or 16 players, so I hope we can keep them all healthy. ”
Ten Hag is finally getting closer to having the team he's always wanted. H Jlund arrived from Atalanta injured and didn't start until mid-September; Martinez was injured in late September; Casemiro was disqualified in November; Mainoo missed preseason with a knee injury and wasn't fit enough to start until late November; Shaw was absent for three months between August and November.
That means at various points in time, Ten Hag's squad depth has been put to the test as he is forced to select Hannibal (now on loan at Sevilla), Facundo Pellistri (now on loan at Granada) and Sergio Reguilon (still unpopular Tottenham player now on loan at Brentford).
The loss of Martinez would be a blow for any time, but at least there are Riffa Varane, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans to replace him at centre-back. In contrast, he has few options to replace H Jlund, Casemiro and Shaw.
Ten Hag opted Harry Maguire to partner Martinez in defence against West Ham, and although the England defender had some wobbling moments – he was tackled by Emerson Palmieri and lost a breakthrough from Gerald Bowen and failed to capitalise on West Ham's two best chances – he still helped United secure their first clean sheet win of the season in the Premier League since the 0-0 draw with Liverpool on 17 December, after conceding at least two goals in their previous five games.
It's just a game, so don't overcelebrate," Ten Hag said. "I don't think we have a reason to do that at this time, but for today we are happy. You need daily performance to get a good performance, and you have to make decisions in a matter of seconds.
Every time you have to make a substitution, a centre-back, a right-back to a left-back, it's all about looking at each other and making the right decisions. Top football is all about the details. ”
Sometime before the end of the season, Ten Hag will sit down with the club's new minority shareholder, Jim Ratcliffe, to discuss whether he is the right person to lead United forward. Ratcliffe was tasked with bringing routine success back to Old Trafford after more than a decade of disappointment, and the decision on the manager would be an early test for his new regime.
Ten Hag is struggling to resist the difficulties of the early season as United were knocked out of European competition just before Christmas, falling behind the race for a top-four finish. But if there are more comfortable days like this one, and the continued contributions of H Jlund, Garnacho and Mainoo, he will be able to point to a bright future ahead of Manchester United under his leadership.