Manchester United’s run of form in the Premier League has seen them jump from the bottom of the table to fifth place, just three points behind leaders Arsenal.
And now the four-match winning drive must be carried over to the Europa League with the Red Devils opening their campaign against Real Sociedad on Thursday night.
Likely rotation
Erik ten Hag has hinted at certain personnel changes as he looks to give minutes to players who haven’t played as much with games scheduled to come fast and plentiful.
But the priority is still to win every game and the Dutch coach will make a big effort in the first few games to ensure qualification for the next phase as soon as possible.
That will allow the former Ajax boss to rotate players more freely and there will be opportunities for academy graduates to impress along the way.
With this in mind, United have added six academy products to the B-list for the club’s Europa League squad, which has been confirmed by the club’s media department.
Players on the #mufc Europa League Squad List B: Radek Vitek, Tyler Fredricson, Zidane Iqbal, Kobbie Mainoo, Anthony Elanga, Shola Shoretire, Charlie McNeill.
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) September 8, 2022
Players include: goalkeeper Radek Vitek, central defender Tyler Fredricson, midfielders Kobbie Mainoo, Zidane Iqbal, Shola Shoretire and center forward Charlie McNeill.
It’s time for the Academy to shine
The six have impressed in age group games and they hope to impress the first team coach in training so that they can at least bench most games.
Fredricson’s displays during the FA Youth Cup title race caught everyone’s attention and he hopes to continue in the same vein.
Mainoo is another part of the FA Youth Cup winning group. His displays have earned him comparisons to former Red Paul Pogba and he certainly has similar attributes and that has been shown during the current Under-21 season.
Iqbal was one of the breakout stars of the pre-season campaign and is the oldest of the group. There have been rumors that Ten Hag has personally wanted to keep him rather than send him out on loan.
Shoretire had made his European debut for the Red Devils in 2021 when he came on as a substitute against Thursday’s opponent Real Sociedad in a 0-0 draw.
McNeill’s goalscoring records at youth level have always been phenomenal and fans are eager to see him get opportunities considering the manager’s lack of options up front.
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