Omari Forson in frame for first Manchester United start after Rasmus Hojlund

Omari Forson is in line to make his first start for Manchester United against Fulham on Saturday as a replacement for the injured Rasmus Hojlund.

United have worked in training on Forson featuring in a front three alongside Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho and Erik ten Hag is expected to pick the 19-year-old for the game at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag’s options are limited due to the absence of Hojlund, who is set to miss up to three weeks of action with a calf injury, while Anthony Martial, United’s only other senior central striker, is not expected to feature before the start of April having undergone surgery on a groin injury in January.

Forson, 19, has appeared as a substitute for Erik ten Hag’s side in the recent FA Cup victories over Wigan Athletic and Newport County, while also emerging in the 86th minute of the side’s Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, in which he provided the assist for Kobbie Mainoo’s winning goal. This was only the second winning goal in Premier League history to be both scored and assisted by a teenager, after Cristiano Ronaldo (19) set up Wayne Rooney (18) to score for United against Liverpool in 2005.

Ten Hag’s decision to hand a start to Forson — who is out of contract at Old Trafford in June — over more established attacking options Amad and Antony will be viewed as a huge vote of confidence in the England Under-20 international.

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Forson joined United in January 2019 from Tottenham Hotspur and has risen through the ranks of the club’s youth teams, featuring in the Under-18s FA Youth Cup-winning team in 2022 — alongside current first-team stars Mainoo and Garnacho.

Forson is a versatile attacking player who has primarily played either as an attacking midfielder or as a wide midfielder in United’s youth teams, and replaced Hojlund in the victory at Wolves earlier this month.

The teenager featured in United’s pre-season tour, playing on the left-wing against Leeds United in Oslo before being taken on the club’s tour of the United States, where he started against Borussia Dortmund.

Forson was substituted off in the 37th minute of that clash following a confrontation with opponent Karim Adeyemi, in which both players received yellow cards. He took exception to a challenge from Dortmund’s Julian Ryerson, before he squared up to Adeyemi.

(Marco Steinbrenner/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

The forward appeared frustrated with the decision, with Ten Hag saying that the teenager must use his disappointment as a “learning curve”.

Ten Hag said after that match: “When there is a VAR, he gets sent off. He played a good game and the opponent gets annoyed with him so that is a learning [curve] but don’t take it into your own hands.

“You can’t be the judge, you have to play football, you have to beat your opponent, you have to net and that is the best way to react.”

Forson…