Young Red Devils to get more chances, says Amorim ahead of Manchester United’s game against Wolves tomorrow.
Young Red Devils will get more chances in the Premier League with Manchester United shifting their energy on the Europa League.
As he prioritises the Europa League semi-final matchup with Athletic Bilbao, Ruben Amorim will utilise younger players in Manchester United’s next three Premier League games.
On May 1, United visits Athletic, and a week later, they host the return. The opening leg is preceded by games against Wolves and Bournemouth, and United visits Brentford in between the European games.
United defeated Lyon 5-4 in extra time to advance 7-6 overall and maintain their chances of taking home a trophy and making it to the Champions League. Ayden Heaven, Chido Obi, and Harry Amass are the three young players that are most likely to receive more playing time than anticipated.
After giving the defender two Premier League matches, Amorim made his European debut on Thursday by substituting the 18-year-old Amass in the 100th minute against Lyon. Heaven, an 18-year-old defender, has played twice in the league, once in the FA Cup, and once in the Europa League. Obi, a 17-year-old forward, has played three times in the league and once in the FA Cup.
Five other players who have made academy appearances this season—Jaydan Kamason, Godwill Kukonki, Jack Moorhouse, Sékou Koné, and the currently injured Toby Collyer—have been added to the bench by the head coach, who is determined to manage his team to give them the best chance of making it to the final.
“It’s not the best moment or the best season to put some kids to play because they need a strong base to really show what they can do, but in this moment we need to do it,” Amorim said. “And sometimes you have surprises. Ayden just played – and I can be honest, because we had a lot of injuries at that moment – but today I think of Ayden as my player. So when he’s ready – and of course he’s facing competition in the team to do so – he’s ready to play, so you don’t know.
“Amass did really well [against Lyon]. Chido, when he played he played quite well. It’s a difficult moment, it’s not the right moment for the kids to play, but if we have to do it we will do it.”
“Players like [Diogo] Dalot, they are always ready but he was really tired. The guys that are recent to have an injury, we will try to save them.” Players recently back from injury include Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount and Luke Shaw.
Amorim namechecked Matheus Cunha after saying Wolves, Sunday’s visitors, have “real quality players”. The head coach was asked whether the Brazilian forward, who has 16 goals this season and would welcome a summer move, was a target. “I just gave the example because I remembered about Matheus – he’s scoring a lot of goals,” he said. “Just that.”