Ben Amos, the former Manchester United goalkeeper, has been part of the PFA pre-season programme for the last month after his departure from Port Vale
Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Amos is still searching for a new club after becoming a free agent. The 36-year-old, who made seven first-team appearances in 14 years at United before his departure in 2015, left Port Vale after his contract expired last month.
He had spent the previous two seasons at The Valiants, helping them win promotion to League One before the club were relegated straight back to League One. In that time, Amos kept 15 clean sheets in 41 matches and played a part in their run to the FA Cup quarter-final last term.
Although some Vale fans wanted to keep Amos, he left at the end of his contract in June and has since become a free agent. While waiting for his next club, Amos has been part of the PFA pre-season squad.
First launched as a pilot programme in 2023 for unsigned players to maintain fitness, the PFA put together a 10-week pre-season camp for the following year and they have been running it ever since. The camp – based in Leicestershire – is designed to help out-of-contract players regain sharpness and inevitably find their next club.
Former Sheffield Wednesday cult hero Fernando Forestieri, ex-Preston forward Will Keane and Ipswich Town’s 2023/24 promotion-winning campaign Samy Morsy are among those with the PFA this summer.
Amos is another involved and he has been at the PFA’s Champneys Springs base for the last four weeks, featuring in pre-season matches against a free agents side from France and non-league Hednesford Town.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Amos said, when asked about his time at PFA pre-season. “I think this is like my fourth week I think I’ve been here. Obviously really hard work, they’ve pushed us every day.
“But just invaluable, like the sessions that they’ve put on, the games, obviously the facilities for recovery, everything has been laid on for us, so even to the food, the food has been unbelievable.
“When you’re away from here, if you’re not on the PFA camp, you just can’t recreate it. You can do all the fitness work you want, all the ball work, but you just can’t compare to this kind of training and service.”
Amos turned 36 in April and is approaching the twilight of his career, but he still feels he can offer something to a club in the Football League ahead of the new season.
“I feel like I’m getting better all the time,” Amos continued. “Yes, I’m without a club in 20-something of July, which I’ve never been in that position before, but I don’t feel like I’ve ever been in a better position in terms of how I feel. It’s just the dynamic at the moment, the market and what have you. Hopefully, I won’t be waiting too much longer.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot more to give. I want to go until I’m 40 and maybe beyond. The market will dictate at the end of the day, it always does. The good thing is I know I’m in a great place, ready for whenever that happens.”
Amos started his professional career at boyhood club United and came through the ranks at the Reds before making his first-team debut, aged 18, during a League Cup tie against Middlesbrough in September 2008.
At the time, Amos was United’s fourth-choice keeper behind Edwin van der Sar, Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak, but Sir Alex Ferguson spotted the talent and gave him a chance to impress.
Although Amos didn’t do much wrong on his debut, he had to wait more than two years for his next competitive match for the Reds, when he featured in the League Cup against Wolves in October 2010.
Amos went on to play seven times in total for United – one of which came in the Premier League – before leaving at the end of his contract in 2015. He moved to Championship side Bolton Wanderers on a permanent deal, having spent the second half of the previous season on loan at the Trotters.
Reflecting on his time at United, Amos felt he should have left the Reds sooner than he did.
Amos said: “I’ve been a United fan since I started watching football. Obviously it was always my dream, Peter Schmeichel was my idol and all that stuff when we went to go and watch them when I was a kid. I just kept punishing, working my hardest in the academy. Then I think there was an injury or something and I obviously got an opportunity to play in the League Cup. I think I was 18, so that was amazing.”
“I think I played seven times, but that was all under Sir Alex. If I was performing well, I’d normally get an opportunity in the Cups, League Cup,” Amos added. “He played me in the Champions League and the Premier League. Just one of those things, really.
“I think [David] De Gea was bought for £20million, which was a big chunk at the time. And obviously a world-class keeper, so it’s pretty hard to get in front of the likes of those guys. I definitely stayed a couple of years too long, with hindsight. I was still hoping for those opportunities, but when Sir Alex left, I didn’t get any more.
“You don’t have regrets if you can help it, but if I could have my time again, I think you’d do that. I’d probably have left when Sir Alex left, and go out and get some more experience.”
Ferguson viewed Amos as “very talented goalkeeper” with a “good future” after promoting him to the senior set-up at Old Trafford. And while his time at United didn’t go as he would have wanted, he has forged out a solid career in the EFL, making more than 350 appearances for some big clubs.
Charlton Athletic, Hull City, Wigan Athletic, Millwall, Cardiff City and Bolton count as some of Amos’ former employers and he will be hoping to find his next club in the coming weeks.
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