Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson from Manchester United, the club’s fortunes have been topsy-turvy. Their sudden and quick decline from winning the title to a 7th place finish and later being knocked out of the group stages in the Champions League, United fans have been through a lot.
The club has had three managers before the arrival of Jose Mourinho and several players have come in and gone out of Old Trafford. The one shining light in the dismal few years is the introduction of several youth players into the first team squad.
Marcus Rashford has had a dream year; from the U18 set-up to the Manchester United senior squad to the England senior squad, the young striker has taken his chances and is touted to hold a starting place in the Manchester United and England first-team.
Players like Jesse Lingard and Timothy Fosu-Mensah have also impressed for United and are a testament that United’s famed again can still produce quality players for the first-team.
These 5 players could be in line for a place in the United squad in the future:
#5 Angel Gomes
All of just 16, Angel Gomes is destined to achieve great things for United and England. Gomes is the son of Gil Gomes, a striker who played for lower league clubs in Portugal and England.
Angel is an attacking midfielder who can play behind the striker or on either wing, floating past players quickly and swiftly. The youngster’s slender build allows him to move past players with ease and he also possesses a wide range of passing.
One of the biggest talents to come out of the Manchester United academy in recent years, Gomes is highly thought of by coaches at United. Gomes is the cousin of former United player, Nani, but the London-born youngster has pledged his allegiance to England and has captained England in the U-16 level.
At 16 years of age, Gomes is already an important part of the U-18 set-up and could make his debut with the U-23 squad by the end of the season.
#4 Callum Gribbin
Gribbin, who has been nicknamed ‘English Messi’ has the skills and guile to dart past defences. The 17-year old, born in Salford, has sublime control with the ball at his feet and has the confidence to take on defenders.
Gribbin has quick feet and a bag of tricks to beat defenders with ease – traits similar to another Manchester United legend, Ryan Giggs. The youngster is highly-rated in Manchester and made his U-23 debut at the tender age of 16.
The attacking midfielder can play in the right of midfield or as a striker, and has also been played in a central midfield role. Gribbin is also a free-kick specialist and can hit the dead ball sweetly. Gribbin, like Gomes, will mostly play in the U-18s but may also feature in the U-23s this year.
Silky skills, quick and an eye for goal, Gribbin ticks all the boxes that Manchester United fans love in a player.
#3 Joshua Harrop
The 21-year old could be the next in line to make an appearance in the senior team owing to his excellent performances in the U-23 team. Harrop is a central midfielder who loves creating chances and has the ability to ping long and short passes.
The creative midfielder moves across the pitch with ease and links play between attack and midfield. Harrop is not the typical English midfielder, bombing up and down the pitch; his style of play is similar to that of the Spanish midfielder.
He plays 1-2s and triangles and moves the ball swiftly from midfield to the attacking third. Harrop has good close control and has acceleration to get up the field quickly.
The midfielder had an injury-riddled season last year but has played well in games this season. He may not feature in the team this year, but injuries in the first team could give him a chance to be part of the first-team squad.
#2 Sean Goss
Likened to Manchester United’s very own Michael Carrick, Goss joined Manchester United from Exeter City in 2012. The 21-year old left-footed midfielder was included in Louis van Gaal’s Champions League squad to the trip to Wolfsburg in 2015.
The technically-gifted midfielder can pick a pass and control the tempo of the game. Goss, a lifelong United fan, can also shoot from distance and has quick feet.
Injury plagued his season last year and he couldn’t push through to the first team. Goss has several quality places to displace to make it to the United first team, but impressive performances in the U-23s could push him through to the senior team.
#1 Axel Tuanzebe
Regarded as a future first-team star, Tuanzebe has received high praise from United youth coaches as well as manager Jose Mourinho. Tuanzebe, at 19, is already a part of the U-23 team.
Tuanzebe was a part of the senior team squad in Louis van Gaal’s reign and also played in the pre-season friendly against Wigan in 2016. The 6ft 1in centre-back has pace, physically well built and a leader on the pitch.
The youngster was the Youth Player of the Year in 2015 and formed a strong pairing with Ro-Shaun Williams in the U-18s set-up.
(Video Courtesy: Mr Lee YouTube Channel)
Mourinho praised Tuanzebe after the friendly against Wigan and had this to say, “You can play 90 minutes or 1 minute. Sometimes 1 minute is enough. With Axel, ten minutes is enough!”
“The potential is there, you see it immediately. You know him better than me because you know him for a few years but if anyone sees him for the first time, ten minutes is enough to see the potential." Tuanzebe also made it to the Europa League squad for the 2016-17 season.
Although born in Congo, Tuanzebe has played for England U-19 in 2016. Tuanzebe’s physical presence and quickness on the pitch are his key traits which makes him a wonderful player at the back.
