Erik ten Hag 'holds showdown talks' with Alejandro Garnacho after the Man United star LIKED two posts accusing his manager of 'throwing him under a bus' and 'blaming' him for draw at Bournemouth

Erik ten Hag has reportedly held showdown talks with Alejandro Garnacho after the Manchester United star liked two posts on social media criticising his manager.

Garnacho was hooked off at half-time as the Red Devils failed to win in the league for the fourth game on the bounce, in a 2-2 draw away at Bournemouth.

Tweets from Mark Goldbridge, host of renowned fan channel the United Stand, slammed Ten Hag for his decision to withdraw Garnacho, and for implying the Argentine's work rate was a reason for taking him off during a post-match interview.

Garnacho, who has more than 700,000 followers on X, was spotted having liked both of Goldbridge's tweets - before later removing them. 

The Manchester Evening News have now reported that Ten Hag has held private talks with the 19-year-old over his activity on social media.

A club spokesperson reportedly said the matter was dealt with internally but did not clarify on whether he had been punished for the likes. 

Speaking on his decision to replace Garnacho at half-time on Saturday, Ten Hag appeared to imply that the forward didn't work hard enough.

'On the second half there were two things,' he said. 'Stay in formation in possession and don’t get erratic.

'Because we will create, and we gave a lot of space away. And the second thing is do your job in the defending part.

'It’s the truth that we in this moment with all the problems we have, we play to our levels and we can play very good to our levels.'

Taking to social media midway through the second half, Goldbridge tweeted: 'Garnacho has been one of our best players this season.

'Poor first half but taking him off at half-time and holding him up as the problem is a joke. Many have done much worse week in week out and are still out there.'

Then posting again after Ten Hag's comments, he added: 'Ten Hag subtly blaming Garnacho in the post match press conference... not a good look throwing a 19-year-old under the bus who has actually delivered for you this season.

'But then again he's clearly scared of upsetting the bigger earners.'

The Argentine's frustrations were also clear when he posted a photo of himself looking dejected during the game to his Instagram story. 

In a season of woe, Garnacho has been one of United's few bright sparks.

He has scored nine goals and assisted four times in his 42 appearances across all competitions.

It is not the first time that a United player's social media activity has become an issue for the club and manager Erik ten Hag. 

Jadon Sancho effectively called the Dutchman a liar for claims that he had not performed well in training.

The England international was then exiled from the United first-team and sent out on loan to former club Borussia Dortmund in January.