Manchester United: Profiling This Season’s Academy Players
Manchester United, a club famed for producing talented young players, may have some future stars waiting in the wings.
It has been a miserable season for Manchester United, but one of the few positives has been the number of academy graduates who have broken into the first team. A remarkable 20 players from the club’s youth teams have been included in matchday squads this season.
Players like Jesse Lingard and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson have been handed prominent roles in the first team by Louis van Gaal. Other players have yet to make their debuts and have instead watched on from the substitutes’ bench to gain experience.
Either way, it’s clear that the Dutch manager will hand young players the chance to impress for as long as he is in charge, even if his tenure will likely come to an end this summer.
Here we profile the 20 academy players to be included in a matchday squad by Van Gaal this season.
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Goalkeepers
Joel Castro Pereira
The 19-year-old was handed a spot on the bench for United’s Europa League second-leg tie vs. FC Midtjylland. The Swiss-Portuguese goalkeeper joined United in 2012, went on loan to Rochdale at the start of this season and has a promising future if performances for United’s youth teams are anything to go by.
Dean Henderson
The 18-year-old outfield-player-turned-goalkeeper joined United in the summer of 2013. Following David De Gea’s knee injury, which was sustained in the warm-up of United’s Europa League first-leg tie vs. FC Midtjylland, Henderson served as backup to Sergio Romero during the visit to Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup.
Sam Johnstone
Fast approaching his 23rd birthday, he is no longer a young player. He was on the bench for United at the start of this season when it appeared likely that De Gea would leave for Real Madrid. Johnstone then joined Preston North End at the start of December but has returned Manchester. At something of a crossroads in his career, the talented goalkeeper could perhaps do with a permanent move this summer in order to play regular football.
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Defenders
Paddy McNair
The 20-year-old, who impressed at the start of last season, has fallen out of favour and played 90 minutes just twice in the Premier League in 2015/16. It spoke volumes that Van Gaal opted to play Michael Carrick in central defence against FC Midtjylland and Arsenal when Chris Smalling picked up an injury. He deserves enormous credit for the way he stepped into the first team at the start of Van Gaal’s tenure, but McNair will struggle to hold down a permanent role in United’s senior squad.
Axel Tuanzebe
The 18-year-old Congo-born defender is a much-fancied prospect in United’s academy. Named on the bench for the 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace early in the season and a few games thereafter, Tuanzebe has yet to make his debut for the club, but it’s surely only a matter of time. A natural defender, he is cool, calm and collected at the back.
Guillermo Varela
The 22-year-old Uruguayan was the first United signing of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. He had a spell under Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid Castilla last season and returned having earned praise from the Frenchman. Varela made his United debut in the autumn this season and had to be patient during the winter, but has really impressed since the turn of the year. Performances vs. Derby County, FC Midtjylland and particularly Arsenal hint at a promising future.
Donald Love
The 21-year-old Rochdale-born defender made his United debut in the drab defeat to Sunderland. A right-back by trade, he had a spell with Wigan Athletic at the start of the season. With Varela a better defender and attacker, it might just be the case that Love doesn’t hit double figures in a United shirt.
Joe Riley
The 19-year-old Blackpool-born player is a makeshift defender, but a fine one at that. He has blistering pace, which came in handy as a winger and made his transition to full-back somewhat easier. He made his debut in the FA Cup win at Shrewsbury Town, played three days later in United’s Europa League second-leg tie vs. FC Midtjylland and was substituted late in the game to a standing ovation. An unconventional defender, it will be interesting to watch Riley’s development.
Regan Poole
The 17-year-old signed from Newport County last summer but had to wait for clearance before he could don the United shirt at the start of February. His promotion to the first-team squad came as a surprise, but he made his debut vs. FC Midtjylland and has been tipped to star for Wales in the future. Still very much at the start of his career, it will be interesting to see where Poole nails down a regular position playing for United’s youth teams.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson
The 19-year-old has been a real success story for United this season. His emergence – in the starting XI, not just the first-team squad – has been entirely unexpected. He has, however, shown tremendous composure and taken his chance superbly. In Luke Shaw’s absence, Borthwick-Jackson has offered natural width, delivered some teasing crosses and been United’s breakthrough star in 2015/16.
Midfielders
Nick Powell
The 21-year-old is a naturally gifted player, so technically assured, but he has yet to find his feet at United and may well have seen his chances come and go. Now on loan at Hull City, he has the opportunity to shine in a team chasing promotion. Van Gaal’s decision to send on Powell in place of Juan Mata when United needed to score vs. Wolfsburg to stay in the Champions League will live long in the memory – for all the wrong reasons.
Adnan Januzaj
The 21-year-old Belgian scored twice on his first United start vs. Sunderland and was expected to become a superstar. After doing so well in the 2013/14 season, Januzaj has endured a frustrating two years. This season, he nailed down a spot in the starting XI in August, scored the winner vs. Aston Villa and, to great surprise, then joined Borussia Dortmund on loan. The temporary move didn’t work out and, since his return to United, he has yet to really feature. The next year will be crucial for his development.
Andreas Pereira
The 20-year-old Belgium-born playmaker is arguably the most technically impressive player in United’s youth ranks. He was named the club’s U21 Player of the Year last season, starred for Brazil at the FIFA U20 World Cup at the start of last summer and then shone during United’s pre-season tour of the United States. Since then, however, Pereira’s chances have been limited. He scored a marvellous free-kick vs. Ipswich Town in the Capital One Cup but hasn’t been given the chance to build on that.
Sean Goss
The 20-year-old left-footed midfielder is very watchable and possesses great technique. Goss was named on the bench for United’s victory at Watford in November and again for the defeat to Wolfsburg in December, but has yet to make his debut. He did, however, feature in pre-season against Paris Saint-Germain and said his mother was reduced to tears when he was subbed on.
James Weir
The 20-year-old Preston-born midfielder joined United in 2011 and was named on the bench for the 3-3 draw away to Newcastle United. He then made his debut for the club when he played the final few minutes of the 3-2 victory vs. Arsenal. A player capped by England at youth level, Weir may head out on loan in one of the next few transfer windows to gain experience.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah
The 18-year-old is the latest academy player to feature in a matchday squad this season. The former Ajax man was signed in 2014 and is one of the most highly rated prospects in United’s youth ranks. He can play as a central midfielder, central defender and full-back. When Marcos Rojo got injured vs. Arsenal, Fosu-Mensah was substituted on, looked relaxed and, one stray pass aside, didn’t make any mistakes. He is sure to have a very, very bright future.
Jesse Lingard
The 23-year-old Warrington-born midfielder has become a permanent fixture in United’s starting XI. After suffering a serious injury on his debut during the first game of last season vs. Swansea City, Lingard had a promising loan spell at Derby County and has returned a better player. It remains to be seen whether he has a long-term future at United, but he has contributed enough ‘moments’ – goals, assists, crosses and passes – to deserve time to develop and progress.
Strikers
James Wilson
The 20-year-old, like Januzaj, scored a brace to mark his first start in a United shirt. A predatory goalscorer with plenty of pace, he has the ability to play at the very highest level. He moved to Brighton and Hove Albion at the start of the season and scored a few goals in his first few games. Another loan move to a Championship team may follow next season.
Will Keane
The 23-year-old, like a few of the academy graduates at United, is at an awkward stage of his career. He needs to play regular football and the only way that can happen is to leave for a new club, permanently or on loan. Keane, however, scored five goals for United’s U21s vs. Norwich City at the start of February and earned a spot in the first-team squad as a result. He was subbed on vs. Shrewsbury in the FA Cup, hit the post moments later, but went off injured after pulling his groin in the action of taking the shot.
Marcus Rashford
The 18-year-old was named on the bench alongside Goss for United’s game at Watford in the autumn. He made his debut against FC Midtjylland when Anthony Martial pulled up with a hamstring injury in the warm-up and scored a memorable brace to send United through to the last 16 to face Liverpool. Three days later, he scored another brace on his Premier League debut vs. Arsenal and also grabbed an assist. A lightning-quick forward, Rashford’s pace will be a huge weapon as he continues to develop and mature.
What’s particularly exciting is that the above list doesn’t include some other promising players currently plying their trade in United’s youth teams. RoShaun Williams, Callum Gribbin and Angel Gomes, to name a few, are tipped for great things and will almost certainly get a chance in the first-team squad in the years to come.
Regardless of how Van Gaal’s time at United comes to an end, his willingness to give opportunities to young players, even if his hand has often been forced due to injuries, is impressive.
Next: Manchester United vs. Arsenal: Rashford heroics earn the win
It’s ambitious to expect the 20 players listed above to all go on and make hundreds of appearances in a United shirt, but there may be half a dozen or so players who have the ability to do just that. Either way, this is one of the most talented groups of young players United have had in some time.