Manchester United’s pre-season is underway, and the club’s young players are desperate to make their mark this summer.
Michael Carrick gave plenty of opportunities to academy players against Wrexham in Finland, and he is expected to take a similar approach for the second pre-season friendly of the summer against Rosenborg on Friday.
This week’s edition of the Manchester Evening News’ Academy Notebook includes updates on Chido Obi’s future, JJ Gabriel, and an injury update on a player who excelled on loan last season.
Decision to come on Obi
Chido Obi didn’t get off the bench against Wrexham last weekend. Carrick made wholesale changes at half-time to field a team of academy players for the second half, but Obi was an unused substitute.
United academy striker Ethan Wheatley played the full second half, and most fans presumed that suggested Obi was about to leave on loan. However, it’s understood United are still weighing up his future.
The decision on Obi’s future will be made over the coming weeks. A few months ago, well-placed sources discussed the importance of Obi performing well in pre-season if he wanted to break into the first team again, so it was interesting that Wheatley was selected ahead of him in Helsinki.
The chances of Obi leaving on loan are already high and they will increase the longer he does not get minutes in pre-season. It was suggested last month that FC Koln were in talks to sign Obi on loan, but sources said there had been no contact at that stage.
Gabriel’s potential debut
JJ Gabriel is expected to travel with the squad to face Rosenborg in Norway. The youngster was not in contention for last weekend’s trip to Finland due to his later return date to training, but he has been in first-team training this week.
That means United fans at the Lerkendal Stadion could get a chance to see Gabriel in action for the first team for the first time on Friday evening.
Gabriel could not make his Premier League debut for United last season because he was too young. He was eligible to be given a chance in the FA Cup, but United were knocked out of that competition by Brighton at the first hurdle.
Darren Fletcher was asked whether Gabriel would be involved against Brighton two days before that game. While Fletcher lavished the youngster with praise, he preached patience and said it was too soon for him to be involved.
It has been seven months since Fletcher made those comments. The 15-year-old has continued to develop physically, as is normal for a player so young, and the feeling is that he will be handed his proper debut in the new campaign.
This summer is the first step to making a competitive first-team debut for Gabriel. It will be a big moment if he gets minutes from the bench against Rosenborg on Friday, but even bigger milestones lie ahead in the near future.
Small setback for Ennis
Luck is a bigger thing in football than some may realise. There is no good time to pick up an injury, but it’s particularly bad timing when a player is at a crossroads in their career and trying to make an impression on a coach.
Ethan Ennis would have been involved in United’s first pre-season friendly against Wrexham last weekend if not for picking up a small injury in training that will take a few weeks to recover from.
Ennis enjoyed an outstanding loan with Fleetwood Town last season. United activated their option to extend his contract by 12 months, and talks over a new deal are heading in the right direction.
He demonstrated his durability with 45 appearances in League Two last term and will return stronger from his minor setback. It’s just a small injury, but the timing of it is nevertheless frustrating for the talented winger.
Plan for the new arrival
On Monday, United announced the signing of winger Tynan Thompson from Tottenham after agreeing a deal worth £4million, with a further £4 million in add-ons. Thompson wanted to relocate primarily for family reasons, but a move to United promises a clearer pathway to first-team football.
The 18-year-old is a similar signing to Ayden Heaven, who arrived from Arsenal last year. United will be patient with Thompson as he settles into his new surroundings, and he’s done individual work this week.
He had not taken part in a first-team training session at the time of writing, so it would be a surprise to see him make the trip to Norway with the squad.
Confusion about a loan departure
The vast majority of United fans won’t know who Solomon Honor is, but a few readers of the Academy Notebook will have seen his loan departure announced by the club earlier in the week.
Honor was signed by United from Blackburn Rovers in the winter window. He was signed as a ‘training goalkeeper’, meaning he supplemented sessions in between the sticks in the second half of last season.
That is why it was slightly confusing to see Honor sent on loan to Southport for the season, but sources have clarified that he will continue to train at Carrington, alongside sessions with the non-league club.
An opportunity came up to give Honor regular game time in men’s football and United want their young players to play as many games as possible to help their development.
The way United have structured the agreement means Honor can continue to work as a training goalkeeper at Carrington when needed, while also getting matches under his belt.
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