Erik ten Hag has been warned by the Manchester United manager that he MUST drop Marcus Rashford for Alejandro Garnacho

Alejandro Garnacho is set to start for Manchester United and Erik ten Hag will not be able to continue with Marcus Rashford as a starter for much longer.

That's the view of former England striker and talkSPORT Drive co-presenter Darren Bent on what Manchester United need to do next after seeing out a 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the weekend.

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The Seagulls took the lead at the AMEX through Danny Welbeck, before Amad Diallo fired home.

Garnacho thought he had turned the game around when he scored for United shortly afterwards, but the goal was ruled out for offside after Joshua Zirkzee's knee hit the line.

Brighton punished Manchester United for their missed chance to take all three points with a goal from Joao Pedro in the fifth minute of added time.

And Bent believes Garnacho has shown enough to justify bringing in regular winger Rashford as a starter, who was caught offside on numerous occasions on Saturday.

“Garnacho has to be a starter,” he said on Monday's programme. “Now, if that means leaving Rashford out, so be it.

“(Amad) Diallo and Garnacho, the way they run directly and that combination play they had with (Joshua) Zirkzee in the second half, those would be the three I would put.”

With Jadon Sancho unable to enter the squad and being linked to a distancing And with Rasmus Hojlund out injured, Rashford, Diallo and Bruno Fernandes have formed Manchester United's front three so far this season.

Rashford played 43 games last season, scoring seven goals and providing three assists. Of those 43 games, Rashford started 35 of them.

The 20-year-old, meanwhile, played 50 games last season, scoring seven goals and providing four assists. He started 41 of those games.

“Erik ten Hag can only protect Marcus Rashford for so long,” Bent said. “I've given him every opportunity to succeed.

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“Even though you haven't played well for a while, I still choose you over Garnacho.

“I saw Garnacho in the Community Shield final come and change the game. It was incredible.

“I saw him when he came on, I know he should have scored against Fulham, but the energy to get up, again, he scored. Unfortunately, Zirkzee was in the way.

“He's now ready to hit the ground running. As a coach, I understand that: you try to be loyal and give Marcus every opportunity to get back into shape.”

“But you risk losing Garnacho if you continue to neglect him and start him. Garnacho, like any other professional athlete, will eventually start to get angry.”

Manchester United have no time to rest on their laurels as they face rivals Liverpool on Sunday.