Manchester United: 5 academy graduates who will shine in 2020/21
Manchester United could have even more gems than last year.
“You can’t win anything with kids.”
The cursed statement that eventually came to bite the living Liverpool legend, Alan Hansen, at the backside was on the headlines of every news outlet in the year 1995. Manchester United had just lost their opening Premier League game 3-1 to Aston Villa, thanks to the goals from Ian Taylor, Mark Draper, and Dwight Yorke.
For Manchester United, the only goalscorer on that day was David Beckham. In the wake of the encounter, Alan Hansen, who had secured eight league titles, two FA Cups and three European Cups for Liverpool, went on to deliver an inharmonious rant, comparing United’s academy graduates to a bunch of “kids”, also suggesting that United had not had the “strength in depth” it needed to win “the championship”.
That day, he was mocking Sir Alex Ferguson’s class of ’92 — the batch that went on to win almost everything that too includes a treble of UEFA Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in the year 1999 — becoming the first and the only English team to accomplish an unthinkable accomplishment. And it now can certainly be said that emotionally-driven Alan Hansen got it absolutely wrong that day.
However, winning with the so-called “kids” was nothing new in the Mancunian club’s prolonged history. The epitome, source, and pioneer, or whatever you want to call him, was Sir Alexander Matthew Busby, widely known as Sir Matt Busby — the man who instituted the foundation on which today’s Manchester United team is based.
Matt Busby was the first person to notice the significance of uniting the youths of Manchester and building a team that would go on to make wonders across the globe. Hence, the renowned “Busby Babes” was born, and the great Manchester United youth academy started reflecting its auras with numerous notable productions of talented youths one-after-another.
And today here we are in the year 2020. Manchester United have secured a Champions League spot by beating Leicester City on the final matchday of the Premier League 2019-20, finishing third in the league, and maintaining the record of having at least one academy graduate in the matchday squad ever since 1938. It’s a fascinating history, isn’t it?
With Manchester United’s current gaffer, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, seemingly possessing a number of academy grads in Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Scott McTominay, Andreas Pereira, Marcus Rashford, Brandon Williams, Mason Greenwood, and some others under his ranks, United have begun to put their faith more in homegrown talents, meaning there is a chance that we might see some younger prodigies thriving in the senior jersey of Manchester United next season.
The 2019-20 season has had proved to be a spectacular breakthrough campaign for Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood, with the former making 33 and the latter securing 47 appearances to their names across all competitions already.
Here, we have a list of five academy prospects who could be given their dream Manchester United debut in the upcoming 2020-21 campaign:
5. Arnau Puigmal
Age: 19
Position: Central midfielder
Nation: Spain
A Barcelona born and bred, Arnau Puigmal made his move from one Catalan club to another in Espanyol back in 2010, aged 10. After a stream of bright performances for El Periquitos, Arnau Puigmal finally caught the eyes of United authority in 2017 Mediterranean International Cup, knocking Manchester United out of the tournament with the protagonist demonstrating a terrific showdown and racking up the conclusive goal against Barcelona in the tournament’s final.
Despite reports suggesting that Barcelona were favourites to re-sign the youth sensation, Manchester United snatched the move in 2017, making him sign a contract which would keep the Spaniard at the red of Manchester until June 2021.
While talking about Puigmal’s technical abilities, United’s former youth team manager Kieran McKenna confirmed, “He’s a really dynamic, technical midfield player who likes to drive forward and carry the ball. He can handle the ball really well and seems a lovely young man too.”
Puigmal, who can also perform as a right-back as well as a midfielder, played 1,239 minutes for United’s U23 side, garnering three goals and one assist from 14 Premier League 2 appearances last term.
The upcoming 2020-21 season could provide him with a massive opportunity to flourish in the senior colours as it is expected that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would be hoping to check the youngster’s on-field abilities in an intense game by giving him a coveted Manchester United debut. On the other hand, the admirer of Paul Pogba, Arnau Puigmal, will be looking to cherish that moment.