With the big guns like Romelu Lukaku, David De Gea, Paul Poga and the rest missing from Manchester United arsenal Jose Mourinho has looked upon the fabled Manchester United Academy to provide him with the necessary replacements for the Red Devils.
Let us take a look at the Seven players that Mourinho has decided to take to the US for the pre-season tour.
1. James Garner
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| Source: Metro.co.uk |
The Birkenhead born along with Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood, was one of the stars for the U-18 side as they clinched the Premier League North champions for Red Devils. The 17-year old was born on 13th of March 2001 and is a product of the Manchester United youth system starting his football career in the Manchester-based side as he made through the U-8s and U-9s before representing the U-18 side less than 15 months ago.
The first full season for Red Devils under Kieran McKenna saw the midfielder making 20 appearances for the U-18 side scoring 4 goals while registering another 4 assist. He was also named captain on the occasions where Lee O'Connor was judged not fit to play. The impressive display by the midfielder led him being called for the U17 England side four times and even led to him being named the captain of the young lions.
The 17-year old was a part of the England U-17 side that lost the U17 European Championship to eventual champions the Netherlands on penalties with him, Joel Garner, playing every minute of the tournament for England while captaining the young lions. All this finally leading the young devil to be nominated for the prestigious Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year Award for 2017/18.
James Garner is a predominantly right-footed player that usually occupies the Centre of the pitch playing as the central midfielder normally and is also capable of playing the defensive midfielder if given the job.
2. Mason Greenwood
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| Source: Twitter |
30 years ago Sir Alex Ferguson and the Manchester United staff carefully kept under rap a wonderfully gifted Wales winger named Ryan Giggs from the media glare to avoid the then 15-year old exposing himself to the dangerous celebrity status that the Media can bestow upon a very very exciting prospect in the World of Football. Fast forward 30 years and United are doing the same with a certain 16-year old named Mason Greenwood who just has been named in the pre-season squad for the US tour, Just like with Giggs Greenwood is kept away from the media's eye, even keeping in-house MUTV from taking any videos or interviews with the young prospect albeit some rare occasions
The youngest member of the preseason squad was one of the best players along with James Garner and Angel Gomes for the Under 18 side that won the Premier League North Division which then fell to the eventual winners Chelsea in the nationals.
Mason Greenwood was born on the 1st of October in Bradford and started his footballing journey with the fabled Manchester United academy and is being touted as one of the best ever to come out from it since the Class of 92. He made his way through the youth systems at the Academy before eventually being drafted into the Under 18 squad despite Greenwood being eligible for the Under 16 squad, tells you how good this 16-year old is. Positional wise Greenwood had started his career as an attacking midfielder or a 'No.10' before evolving into the goal-scoring machine he has become today. The sheer idea of the excluding James Wilson, who has 3 premier league goals in his name, in favour of 16-year old speaks high volume of the talent that Greenwood posses.
Mason Greenwood is more than just a goal-scoring machine, scoring 17 goals in 17 previous appearances in his only ever season till date for the U18s, the 16-year old is blessed with devastating pace capable of leaving the defenders gasping for air as well as having a technical ability far surpassing his age group. The most unique feature of Greenwood is his ability to take set pieces with either of his feet perfectly
3. Angel Gomes
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| Source: Express.co.uk |
Even if Angel Gomes does not fulfil the talent he possesses the 17-year old will forever be remembered by the Old Trafford as the kid who came on for Wayne Rooney in the 88th-minute in what would be his final ever appearance for the Red Devils while also being the first player to be born in 2000's to wear Mancunian colours in the Premier League.
The most famous name in the list of all the teenagers, Angel Gomes was born in London on the 31st of August 2000 and has been one of the most exciting players to come out of the fabled Manchester United Academy in recent time. Gomes was born in Salford and made his way through the academy through the various age groups making his U18 appearance at the age of 14 and his U23 appearance at the age of 16. He started his career in the 2014/15 season making a last day appearance for the U18 side the 2015/16 season saw the United faithful were given a glimpse into the vast talent possessed by then 15-year old as he was named Most Promising Player award in Manchester United Premier Cup despite the Manchester-based club finishing a lowly 12th.
The 2016/17 season finally saw the young talent breaking into the U18 first XI, as Gomes became the youngest player since 2001 and third youngest in the history of Manchester United to score a hattrick when the teenager scored his first ever hattrick in 2016. The young attacking midfielder ended the 16/17 season with 20 appearances scoring 12 goals and registering 6 assist ending his wonderful season becoming the youngest ever winner of the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award while becoming the youngest ever player to represent Manchester United surpassing the record held by Duncan Edwards.
The young Gomes saw his U18 appearances being restricted to 6 matches(scoring 3 goals and registering an assist in the 6 matches) due to the young Salford born lad being drafted into the U19 UEFA Youth League Manchester United side, U23 Manchester United side and U17 World Cup commitments. Gomes made 4 appearances for the U23s while scoring 2 goals in 7 appearances in the UEFA Youth League while also making his 2nd appearance for the Red Devils in another 88th-minute cameo against Yeovil Town.
The young Angel Gomes is renowned for his ability and creativity on the ball and usually operates in the centre of the attacking midfield just behind the striker. He is also capable of playing in either of the sides of the midfield.
4. Tahith Chong
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| Source: Metro.co.uk |
It was like everything came crashing down for the young Tahith Chong when he injured his anterior cruciate ligament in a match against Everton in January. The shaggy-haired Marouane Fellaini look-alike had just started his Manchester United journey in the season after completing his transfer from the famed Feyenoord academy. The shaggy hairstyle was the only common thing the young Dutch forward has in common with Belgian giant Marouane Fellaini as he tore the U18 defences to shred scoring 3 goals and registering 7 assists before the cruel injury robbed him of 10 months of action
Tahith Chong was born on the 4th of December 1999 in Willemstad the capital of the Dutch-Caribbean island of Curacao before moving to Rotterdam where he started his footballing career joining the famous Feyenoord Academy in Rotterdam before eventually moving on to the hallowed turf of Old Trafford in 2016.
The second season for the young Chong saw a player looking determined to be successful taking the field. after 300 days after his horror injury. Now the 17-year old tore the U18 defences again like he was never injured as he made 7 appearances and scored 4 goals thereby earning him a spot with the U23's where he continued his stupendous form scoring 3 goals and registering an assist in 8 league appearances for the reserves squad while also making International Premier League Cup and UEFA Youth League debut for the Red Devils.
Tahith Chong is one of those players who are capable of playing in any of three attacking positions on offer with right-wing being his favoured position, predominantly a left-footed player Chong capable of playing from the centre, the left and right side. Chong is blessed with great strength and speed that is capable of leaving everyone gasping for breath and is always ready to take on any opponents. Another crucial part of his game is the willingness of the winger to track and cover his full-backs.
5. Joshua Bohui
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| Source: Zimbio.com |
With Romelu Lukaku unavailable Jose Mourinho was left no players who played the centre-forward naturally making Mourinho calling up the 19-year old Centre forward from the United Reserves for the preseason. Joshua Bohui was born on the 3rd of March 1999 in London and started his footballing career in Griffin Park the home of Brentford FC at the age of 11 steadily making through the age group and making his U18 and U21 debuts for the Bees before turning 18.
Then impressive displays by the centre-forward led to Manchester United signing the then 17-year old after an impressive display that saw Bohui scoring 2 goals in 12 youth appearances. Joshua Bohui is blessed with very high work-rate, devastating pace and clinical finishing ability,
It took time for the young Bohui to make his mark as he started his career scoring just 6goal and registering just 2 assists for the U-18 side in his first season with the club while also making 4 appearances and registering 2 assists for the U-23 side in the same season. The second season saw the English lad featuring more for the U-23 side as the then 18-year old made 16 appearances and registering a single assist while scoring 4 goals in 8 matches for the U-19 side.
6. Ro-Shaun Williams
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| Source: Getty Images |
The story of Ro-Shaun Willams is a story of what-if, as the 19-year old was tipped to make his United debut long before teammate Axel Tuanzebe made his maybe even being the mainstay in the shaky Manchester United centre-back position till a severe injury ruled him out for 6 months and effectively ending his chances of getting into the first team earlier.
Williams was on the cusp of United debut in the 2016 season with Louis Van Gaal called up the then 17-year old twice into the Matchday squad, first against West Ham in the FA Cup on March 13 and next against rivals Liverpool in the Europa League on the 18th of March fuelling rumours of potential appearance for the Mancunian lad before the end of the season. It all went downhill from there on as he went from the cusp of first team appearance into absolute obscurity from the first team as he suffered several injuries in the 2016/17 with a severe shoulder injury that keeping him out for nearly 6 months.
Ro-Shaun Williams was born the 3rd of September 1998 in Manchester and started his footballing career with Manchester United joining the youth system at the age of 9. He made his way through the age groups and had U18 team debut at the age of 15 while also making his U21 debut at the age of 16. The 2015/16 season saw Williams making 5 appearances for the Red Devils in the UEFA Youth League and 3 appearances for the Three Lions in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2015 in Chile. The 2016/17season saw Williams making 2 appearances for the U18 side as well as 7 appearances for the U23 along with scoring his first goal for the reserves as he ended the season harshly following a severe shoulder injury.
2017/18 season saw a more determined Ro-Shaun Williams as the 19-year old came back strong from his shoulder injury and finally made a run in the reserves team as the centre-back making 17 appearances in the league alone while registering his first assist in the reserves. Williams also made 5 appearances in the UEFA Youth League along with 2 appearances in the Premier League International Cup.
Ro-Shaun Williams is one of the quickest and most powerful centre-backs around who loves to dominate the defence. At the age of 15, Williams broke the 25-year old 100m school's record held by Olympic Gold medallist Darren Campbell by clocking 10.99 seconds despite never competing in a competitive race before or after.
7. Ethan Hamilton
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| Source: Express.co.uk |
One of the more familiar names in the teenagers to included in the pre-season squad, Ethan Hamilton has already had a taste of first-team match preparation for the Red Devils, making the matchday squad in place of World Cup winner Paul Pogba in a 2-0 victory over Huddersfield in the FA Cup.
Ethan Hamilton was born on the 18th of October 1998 in Edinburgh. The journey of the Scottish lad is similar to that of Manchester United legend Darren Fletcher, starting his footballing journey with the Hutchison Vale Boys Club before moving to the Manchester-based club in 2014 as a 16-year old.
Ethan Hamilton started his Manchester United footballing journey making 6 appearances for the Red Devil's U18 team in the 2014/15 campaign scoring his first ever goal against Manchester City in January 2015. The 2015/16 season saw the Scott making 3 appearances for the U-19 side in the 2015/16 Uefa Youth League while also featuring more prominently for Paul McGuinness U18 side. The 2016/17 season saw the Scottish born midfielder featuring more prominently for the side as he made 22 appearances scoring 8 goals and recording 4 assists for the U-18 side as he captained the U18 side in the 2016/17 season while also making 7 appearances for the U-23 side in the same season.
The 2017/18 season saw Hamilton being elevated to the Reserves squad as he made 19 appearances and registered an assist for the U-23 in the league while also making 3 appearances and scoring 1 goal in the Premier League International Cup. Hamilton also made 8 appearances while scoring a goal for the U-19s in the UEFA Youth League culminating in Jose Mourinho calling the Scottish born lad into the match squad in place of ill Paul Pogba for the match against Huddersfield.
The 19-year old Edinburgh born lad is being dubbed as the next Roy Keane drawing after drawing comparison with his style of sitting deep and breaking up of play while scoring the odd goals in between. Hamilton normally plays in the left centre midfield position but can be deployed as a centre-back and as well as a wing-back due to the versatility of the player. Hamilton also possesses a powerful shot in his armoury much like Keane and Matic and is also capable of playing with both his feet.
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