With Antony taking time away from the club, Manchester United has a gap to fill on the right wing, and there is no clear candidate for the role. Despite having spent over £200 million on right-wingers since 2020, the only likely option to start against Brighton this weekend is the 21-year-old Garnacho, who has just one start to his name.

Even then, Facundo Pellistri is likely to remain a substitute rather than a starter against Brighton, as Antony, Jadon Sancho, and Amad are expected to be absent. Instead, Erik ten Hag is likely to field an attacking lineup consisting of two forwards who prefer to play on the left or three who favor that role, assuming Anthony Martial stays at center-forward.

Amad’s injury is currently preventing him from making a claim for the position, while Antony has been granted a leave of absence to deal with assault allegations in Brazil. Additionally, Sancho’s path back into the side is unclear after his recent social media criticism of Ten Hag. As a result, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho are the likely wingers against Brighton, and one of them will need to take on the right-wing role, despite both preferring to play on the left.

For Ten Hag, this won’t be an easy decision. Rashford, who has recently looked more comfortable on the left, has had two starts in the middle, contributing two assists and a goal against Nottingham Forest and Arsenal.

However, Rashford possesses experience playing on the right, which Garnacho lacks. According to Transfermarkt stats, Rashford has played 42 games as a right-winger for United, scoring 11 goals and providing seven assists. In contrast, Garnacho has featured in that position only once, coming on as a substitute in the 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad at Old Trafford a year ago.

Ten Hag faces a dilemma: choose Rashford’s consistent output on the left and risk playing Garnacho in an unfamiliar role, or trust the teenager to replicate Rashford’s impact. Garnacho’s late chance against Arsenal, although ruled offside, suggests that Ten Hag may opt for the latter.

There’s a risk that Rashford might struggle on the right, but he has had moments of success there, even if he can’t cut inside and pose the same goal threat he does on the left. Last year, he scored a couple of goals for England from the right at the World Cup, playing in a narrower position to get into scoring areas. This could be an option for United, although it would require Aaron Wan-Bissaka to maintain width rather than moving centrally.

Rashford did score twice for United from the right in the front three last season, against Burnley in the Carabao Cup and in the 2-2 draw with Leeds at Old Trafford in February. If this is how it pans out against Brighton, it will be intriguing to see how it works, as there is still a sense that they will eventually need to incorporate both Garnacho and Rashford into the same team.