OPINION
Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof was the major loser from his side’s victory over West Ham at the weekend and could be in for a difficult start to his career at Old Trafford.
The 23-year-old was not in the squad as the Red Devils kicked off their Premier League campaign with a convincing 4-0 home win over the Hammers.
Jose Mourinho elected to use Phil Jones and Eric Bailly as the centre-back combination, while Chris Smalling was a back-up option on the bench.
That meant that the £31million summer signing Lindelof was not even in the match day squad, despite featuring in the Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid on Tuesday.
The Sweden international will have been expecting to make an automatic impression in the first team, but will have to be patient to get his chance in the Premier League.
Henrik Mkhitaryan endured a frustrating start at United when he arrived in the summer of 2016 and Mourinho eased him into English football before he became a mainstay.
Lindelof could now follow the same path as teammate Mkhitaryan and he will be worried about the form of his side’s defenders against West Ham.
United looked extremely comfortably at the back against West Ham, despite the fact they are likely to face more offensive teams later in the campaign.
Ivory Coast international Bailly appears to be the first-choice centre-back at Old Trafford and his turn of pace makes him top quality in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Jones put a strong case for his inclusion in the starting XI going forward and has proven to be a top defender when he remains injury-free.
Lindelof also needs to get ahead of Smalling in the pecking order and appears to have a very tough fight to to earn a permanent slot in the starting line-up.
Mourinho is unlikely to alternate from his successful defensive combination in the near future and Lindelof will need to try impress in training to justify his £31million price tag.