IS THERE AN EXISTING SERIOUS PLAN TO INTEREGATE PLAYERS FROM THE ACADEMY INTO THE MANCHESTER UNITED FIRST TEAM OR HAS THE PLAN BEEN ABANDONED?

 

From all indication of what we've seen so far from the Red half of Manchester were not joking when first team manager Ole Gunner Solskjear suggested he will make the youth setup an important part of Manchester United's progression into becoming a trophy-winning side then Solskjaer delivers.  

 

But just how much of a role will the Manchester United youth team play in helping Manchester United’s first team attain success this season?  

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

First Manchester United promoted Axel Tuanzebe, Brandon Williams, Teden Mengi, James Garner and now we can add two new young recruits in Shola Shoretire and Hannibal Mejbri into the mix as the two latest players to join the Manchester United senior team from the Manchester United youth team. Therefore, there is a case to be made here that when Manchester United manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer makes a statement of intent such as suggesting the youth team will be an important part of the Manchester United first team’s quest to win trophies, the Manchester United manager delivers. Right?  

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

  

Well, simply looking at the presence of names such as Axel Tuanzebe, Shola Shoretire, and Brandon Williams not only added on the first team bench but these lads having played first-team football will open the door for some people to say Yes the Manchester United manager has indeed delivered on his word. However, looking at the area of match minutes created during first-team games for the young promoted players, the facts remain that the youth players have not necessarily played a major role for the Manchester United first-team so far this season.  

 
 

 
 

 
 

Staying on the same topic of promoting youth players from the Manchester United youth system into the Manchester United first team to anyone who responds yes and no to the question is youth promotion at Manchester United going smoothly? the answer appears to be correct, to be honest. 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

The problem with the youth system at Manchester United football club is not a question of will these young, talented, players get promoted to the senior team? The more important question will these young players get a chance to play or will these young players just sit on the bench or make a few cameos off the bench just to fill some level of quoter of the number of young players who got promoted from the Manchester United youth system each season.  

 

 

 

 

 

Tahith Chong and James Garner are just a list of some of the most recent talented youngsters who been allowed to walk away from Old Trafford to secure loan moves to German side Weder Bremen and English league two side Watford despite both players showing massive signs they might be ready to feature in a rotating selection process for the Manchester United senior team.  

 
 

 
 

 
 

Moreover, both players will fit in quite well in two positions out of the few positions Manchester United appears to be short on which is the Right-wing position and the central defensive midfield position. 

 

     

 

 
 

 
 

 
 

With Manchester United choosing to ship out these young players out on loan or let young players run down their contracts and walk away to sign for others as was the case with ex-Manchester United academy midfielder Angel Gomes, then what reality does this spell out for Manchester United football club?  

 
 

 
 

From the evidence received recently from the actions of Manchester United football, the unfortunate that awaits Manchester United youngsters is that the chances of young players from the Manchester United academy being promoted and given deserved game time in the Manchester United first-team appears to have shrunk from a %60 chance to a %45 chance at best. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite executive vice-chairman of Manchester United Ed Woodward openly declared over the past year or two that Manchester United football club continue to be invested in promoting players from the Manchester United youth system and awarding these promoted youngsters playing time within the first team at Manchester United, the Red Devils are yet to deliver on their word.  

 
 

 
 

 
 

Mason Greenwood has unfortunately been the only player promoted from the Manchester United academy over the past two years who have been awarded major game time as a starter in the Manchester United first team. Quite a revealing statistic showing how quickly the Red Devils are steadily leaving young players behind in the clubs' regrowth into a trophy-winning side once again. 

 

 
 

 
 

 

The fact of the matter is not that Manchester United continually chooses to let players go, letting players go if there is an overpopulation of players competing for a certain position makes sense. Letting two or three right-wingers for example from a Manchester United team that has six wingers who can play both wings is a decision that makes sense because the choice to let some players go from a team that has six left-wingers for example cuts the number of wingers to four.  

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

This automatically creates a healthy rotation system where two wingers can be picked to start one game leaving two wingers on the bench in case of fatigue and then in the next game the two wingers who were left on the bench for the previous game will be inserted into the starting lineup. A team with extra players for each position also allows managers to dig into the bench and make changes in games or a team with extra players for different positions on the bench allows managers the opportunity to rotate the squad in the next game to avoid fatigue and lengthy injuries.  

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 

This particular reason is what promotions from the reserve team are meant for because the reality is that the Manchester United first team is lacking enough players in certain positions and this problem will be faced by the team deep into the season when fatigue and possibly injuries hit Ole Gunner Solskjear’s team. Unfortunately, the management at Manchester United football club fails to operate with this mindset of promoting and inserting young talented players who are ready for the step up from the youth team to the senior team. 

 

 

 

 
Promotion of players from the Manchester United youth team into the Manchester United first team is a strategy that encourages growth, a strategy that provides fresh talent, and a strategy that provides the great belief of making the senior team consistently to the youth players. In return, promoting players from the youth setup at Manchester United and gradually allocating a starting role for the promoted youth players within a rotating system in the first team encourages the players in the Manchester United youth system to continue striving to improve and this provides a less expensive route for Manchester United to capitalize on right there on Old Trafford.  

 

 

Unfortunately, the Manchester United youth system is an avenue the Red Devils refuse to prioritize as a route that can fuel success at Manchester United and the Red Devils are now paying the price without even realizing this.