"We have seen a different dynamic" – Erik ten Hag hints at role change for Manchester United stars Bruno Fernandes and Victor Lindelof

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has claimed that he has envisioned role changes for Bruno Fernandes and Victor Lindelof.

The Red Devils progressed to the EFL Cup finals after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the second leg of their last-four fixture at Old Trafford on Wednesday (February 1). Anthony Martial and Fred netted in the second half to help the hosts register a 5-0 aggregate victory.

During their recent EFL Cup clash, Ten Hag swapped his entire front three after an hour of play. Fernandes replaced Antony on the right flank with Jadon Sancho deputizing in a central role. Lindelof, on the other hand, replaced Casemiro in a holding role for the final 10 minutes of the tie.

Speaking at a post-match press conference, Ten Hag shed light on his decision to switch Fernandes for Antony on the right wing.

"It was one thought about, but also to bring a different dynamic in the team, I wanted to see how that works, we brought Bruno more times before in the wide position. I think it's difficult to anticipate it when you first have to deal with Antony, then you bring a semi-wide player there, it's really difficult to anticipate," he said.

Explaining his thought process, Ten Hag said he wanted to test out a new combination on the pitch.

"Bruno is really effective but I want to see the combination with Jadon and Anthony Martial, we've seen a different dynamic, that can help us and give us more opportunities in the future," the 53-year-old said.

Ten Hag also shared his thoughts on using Lindelof as a midfielder.

"He was educated as a six, a controlling holding midfielder in Benfica, I know he can do that. We tried it in training multiple times. Maybe one game, I want my centre-halves in midfield positions so we create dynamics to construct more dynamic situations," he added.

Manchester United are next set to face Crystal Palace in their 2022-23 Premier League encounter at Old Trafford on Saturday (February 4).

Erik ten Hag says he might use Manchester United defender in a new role in the future

Speaking ahead of their 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag hinted that he might use Lisandro Martinez as a central midfielder to cope with their ongoing injury crisis.

"He did it before, so that is one thing. Me as a manager, you have to be creative in such situations where in other departments where we have players who can be starting 11 players, but because I can only play one player in that position we can maybe move players into different departments and be creative to form a team," the Dutch manager said.

Manchester United are currently without three central midfield options, namely Christian Eriksen, Donny van de Beek and Scott McTominay.