Three academy stars named in Manchester United squad to face Fenerbahce amid midfield shortage

Habeeb Ogunneye, Harry Amass and Ethan Wheatley have all been included in the Manchester United squad to face Fenerbahce in the Europa League.

Erik ten Hag has named a 20-man travelling party for their trip to Turkey, with only three midfielders included amid a selection shortage. Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Manuel Ugarte are all part of the squad, but United will be without the suspended Bruno Fernandes and the injured Kobbie Mainoo on Thursday night.

Club captain Fernandes will serve his one-match European suspension this week after he was sent off in the 81st minute of their 3-3 draw with Porto earlier in the month. Fernandes had already been booked for a foul in the first-half of the match when he was sent off for a high boot that caught defender Nehuen Perez. United were 3-2 down at the time of his dismissal but defied the odds to draw level through Harry Maguire in the final minutes of the match.

Despite the lack of senior midfield options, Ten Hag has opted to add academy full-backs Ogunneye and Amass to the squad, while academy forward Wheatley is also included.

Jonny Evans has also not travelled to the match, leaving United light of full-back cover in defence. Lisandro Martinez is expected to partner Matthijs de Ligt at centre-back, meaning Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui are the only senior options at full-back.

UNITED'S TRAVELLING SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Altay Bayindir, Tom Heaton, Andre Onana. Defenders: Harry Amass, Diogo Dalot, Matthijs de Ligt, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez, Noussair Mazraoui, Habeeb Ogunneye. Midfielders: Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Manuel Ugarte. Forwards: Amad, Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund, Marcus Rashford, Ethan Wheatley, Joshua Zirkzee.