There is perhaps no better academy in world football than Manchester United’s. For many years, they have had an incredible production level of elite talent who have gone on to play for United and clubs elsewhere in England and the rest of Europe.
In the mid-20th century, it was the famous Busby Babes who were United’s elite academy players. Fast forward to the start of the Premier League era, and you have the Class of ‘92. More recently, local talents like Danny Welbeck, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford have played a part for the club.
The latest crop of academy talent has seen two players break into the first team and become key players. Alejandro Garnacho has nine goals and four assists in 42 games in his first season as a regular starter for the Red Devils. Kobbie Mainoo has revolutionised United’s midfield and has now played 24 first-team games this season. He may well be destined for a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad.
Whilst injuries have affected United’s season, they have had 57 separate cases in total, it has given the chance for youth to shine through.
Now, with continued problems at left-back due to persistent injuries for Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka – who was awarded a 2/10 match rating by the MEN against Brentford – struggling out of position there of late, United could well look to the academy again ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City.
Man Utd's left-back solution vs Coventry
17-year-old left-back Harry Amass is one of the most exciting talents in the Manchester United academy. He joined the club last summer from Watford, and after a superb season has been deservedly fast-tracked from the under-18s to the under-21s, where he has so far played twice.
Amass has had first-team experience before, although has not yet made his debut. Aged just 15, he was on the bench for Watford in the FA Cup, in a 2-0 defeat away to Reading. Since then, the youngster has featured on the bench for United’s first-team, with a debut perhaps not too far around the corner.
Journalist Daniel Martins explained that Amaas is “highly rated by Ten Hag and his coaches”, prior to the Premier League game away to Bournemouth last weekend, which ended 2-2 with United coming from behind twice.
A ready-made Luke Shaw “successor”
Amass was previously described as a "Luke Shaw successor” by journalist Alex Turk. Stylistically, the comparison between Amass and United’s first-choice left-back Shaw is more than reasonable.
The 17-year-old is a wonderful ball carrier, able to drive inside or down the line. Amass’ low centre of gravity makes him nimble on his feet, able to turn away from an opposition defender and ride challenges with relative ease. Not only that, Amass is a skilful player, dangerous in one-vs-one situations because of his unpredictability and speed in which he can dribble.
Like Shaw, Amass is a very technically gifted player and is so composed with the ball at his feet. He has one goal and three assists in 14 games for United’s under-18s, and is a wonderful crosser of the ball in the final third, confident when overlapping the winger.
Defensively, Amass is good in duels and reads the game well. He is a deceptively strong player, able to outmuscle the opponent off the ball before bursting forward to start an attack. One of Amass’ best defensive contributions this season came against Manchester City, when his last-minute sliding challenge in the penalty box stopped a certain City goal, showing his excellent reading of the game.
Indeed, Amass is rated so highly that United “want to look at” the youngster before deciding to sign a left-back this summer, according to one source on Twitter.
After Garnacho and Mainoo’s fast track into the first team, it would not be a surprise to see Amass get an opportunity, too. He is certainly a promising talent, and there is good reason for Red Devils supporters to be getting excited about him as a potential first-team player.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.