The Red Devils have been struck down by a deep injury crisis, but help is at hand from a hugely talented crop of youngsters
Manchester United have had 99 problems this season, but an injury crisis thankfully wasn't one of them. Until it was. Lisandro Martinez's season-ending injury against Crystal Palace began a torrid spell of setbacks in February which would later see star boy Amad Diallo ruled out for the rest of the campaign with an ankle issue and Kobbie Mainoo sidelined for a few weeks with a muscle injury following a disastrous week of training which saw Toby Collyer and Manuel Ugarte sustain knocks and Leny Yoro and Christian Eriksen succumb to illness.
The outbreak of injuries and illness led to United naming a substitutes bench for Sunday's game against Tottenham that contained eight players with no senior experience at all. But as Machiavelli famously said, one should never waste an opportunity offered by a good crisis, and the latest spate of injuries has opened up the chance for several of United's crop of talented youngsters to make their mark for Ruben Amorim's side.
While the first team continue to flounder and are enduring their worst season since suffering relegation in 1974, the club's youth system is in rude health. United's Under-18s are second in their league and have advanced to the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup, while the U21s are fourth in the Premier League 2. The club have also become much more active in the transfer market for young stars as they look to mimic the success of Manchester City and Chelsea in that arena.
With that in mind, GOAL picks out 10 academy stars who can step up into the United first team and lend Amorim a helping hand in his hour of need…
GettyChido Obi
Chido Obi became the 252nd United academy player to graduate to the senior side when he came off the bench against Tottenham in the 89th minute. The Danish striker created a buzz for his incredible goal-scoring feats with Arsenal's youth sides, which included scoring seven goals in one U18s game against Norwich last season, and a stonking 10 times against Liverpool for the U16s.
The 17-year-old has been likened to Erling Haaland for his tall frame, lightning-quick reactions in the box and his unquenchable first for goals, which have seen Obi become the U18 Premier League's record scorer and tot up seven goals in three Youth Cup matches this season, including a recent hat-trick against Chelsea.
AdvertisementGetty Gabriele Biancheri
His name might make him sound like a Serie A legend, but 18-year-old centre-forward Gabriele Biancheri is a Wales youth international and joined United in 2023 from Cardiff City. He does have dual nationality and could represent Italy, but he is already being seen as part of Wales' exciting next generation after scoring four times in his last three matches for the U19s.
Biancheri is also hitting prolific numbers with United, averaging a goal for every game started with the U18s this season and last while maintaining that same strike rate when playing for the U21s.
Getty ImagesSekou Kone
Defensive midfielder Sekou Kone was a bit of a leftfield signing for United last August, plucked from Malian side Guidars for £1m ($1.2m). He had previously made a name for himself at the U17 World Cup in Indonesia, starring as Mali took the tournament by surprise and reached the semi-finals before then beating Argentina in the third place play-off.
United U21 coach Travis Binnion hinted that Kone was a work in progress when he said: "He’s a good player, he’s going to be a really good player. He’s still getting to grips with the language, the intensity, the positional stuff, and his own fitness. In time, he’s got to be everywhere on the pitch and finding it easy physically at this level. That’s the challenge of where we’ve got to get to and we will get there. He will get there."
Getty Jack Moorhouse
Jack Moorhouse caused a stir early in his career when he made his debut for United's U18s as a 15-year-old, although a year-long absence due to injury stunted the midfielder's development somewhat.
He made his comeback at the start of this season with the U21s, and Amorim was watching when he struck twice in a 5-1 thrashing of Southampton in December. Moorhouse followed his brace up by scoring against Oldham in January and producing a splendid individual goal against Tottenham earlier this month, netting after a lung-bursting run from his own half.
