Ranking the 2016/17 Manchester United Academy Graduates on Their Potential
When Jose Mourinho took over at Manchester United in May 2016, there were plenty of questions about how he would incorporate young players into his team.
His first season returned an uncertain verdict. In the positive column sits his use of Marcus Rashford and the fact he gave first-team debuts to six players who have come through the United academy.
In the negative column sits his handling of Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who hardly featured, and the fact four of those players made their debuts in a dead rubber on the last day of the season. Equally, the fact Axel Tuanzebe looked so impressive once he made the step up to the first team sort of counts as a knock against Mourinho, who waited a long time before turning to him.
But what of those six players? What does the future hold for them? Predicting the trajectory of a young player's career is a fool's errand, as injuries, growth spurts and their relationship with coaches can make huge changes to the outcome.
Nonetheless, we have had a go at ranking them on their potential, accepting that it is an inexact science.
It is important to note that this is not a suggestion that those ranked higher up will meet that potential or that being sixth on a list like this is any kind of knock. To have made it into United's first team, even in a dead rubber against Crystal Palace, is a remarkable achievement, and the likelihood is all six players will have careers in football.
6. Scott McTominay
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Scott McTominay made his full debut in the Palace game and was impressive. He had a Michael Carrick-esque presence in the centre of the park and put up Carrick-esque numbers. He completed 90 per cent of the 49 passes he attempted, including one key pass.
Warren Joyce, former United reserve-team coach, suggested the 20-year-old might be less in the Carrick mould and more like Ander Herrera, per Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News: "He could be a proper box-to-box aggressive midfielder, and we need to be mindful of that. He's a really good footballer, technically sound with good skills and excellent in the keep-ball sessions."
McTominay's rise through the youth ranks was helped by a serious rise in his height. In September 2016, he told the club's official website: "It was around 18 months ago [that] I was 5'6", and to go from that to the height I am now, 6'2" or 6'3", it takes a little bit of time to get used to it. It's not a problem, though, as I'm going to put that behind me and look to the season ahead."
He is down in sixth not because of his own limitations but because of the potential of those above him. Perhaps, like Carrick, he has a greater ceiling than is obvious.
5. Demetri Mitchell
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Demetri Mitchell's performance against Palace was seriously impressive. He started at left-back, a position to which he has only switched as the season progressed.
He told MUTV (h/t Alex Porter of the Manchester Evening News):
"We had a friendly against Barnsley, and I played at left-back. It was new to me, and I didn't grasp it too well, but I played wing-back against Chelsea and that helped me adjust to the position. I also played against Sparta Prague [in the Premier League International Cup] and just went on from there. To be fair, I think I've adjusted quite well."
He managed the defensive aspects of the game well enough against Palace, but where he shone was in the opposition third. Unsurprisingly, given his background as a winger, Mitchell was willing to take on his opposite number and threw in a few neat tricks as he completed a couple of successful dribbles.
It might be different had the opposition been in a more competitive mood or we saw him for more than one game, but it seems reasonable to give him a chance next season in what was a problem position for the Red Devils during the 2016/17 campaign. That is how good he looked.
His positional uncertainty, though, is one of the reasons he is in the bottom half of this list. It is not yet clear just how good a defender he could become, which counts against him slightly in this calculation. Equally, the fact he was moved to a more defensive position possibly raises questions about how good an attacker he is.
Nonetheless, if he can display the confidence and talent he showed against Palace during the rest of his career, he could yet go a long way in the game. After all, there was a time when he was considered to be ahead of Rashford in the pecking order.
4. Josh Harrop
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Josh Harrop did not so much catch the eye against Palace as grab it and refuse to let go. From the first minutes of the game, he looked bright and busy on United's left. In the 14th minute, he got on the end of a Paul Pogba through ball, dribbled into shooting range and let fly into the opposite top corner of the net. He—and the Old Trafford faithful—went wild.
Harrop was, a couple of years ago, considered the one to watch in the academy, according to regular youth-team observer Doron Salomon. He has fallen somewhat victim to the awkward gap in development that can happen when a player is too good for academy football but not yet ready for prime time, and things got a bit stale.
Perhaps his first-team bow will kickstart his career and help him live up to that early potential. At 21, he could benefit from a loan or even permanent move away from Old Trafford, where competition for attacking places will be likely to be even tougher next season. Preston North End are interested, per Joe Bernstein of MailOnline.
He still has bags of potential.
3. Joel Pereira
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Mourinho has been clear about what he thinks of Joel Pereira's potential.
He said, per Luckhurst: "We have a third goalkeeper that I think will be the best Portuguese goalkeeper of the next generation, so anyone in goal I trust completely."
The player's response was straight out of the media-trained young footballers' playbook. He said, per Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports: "They're nice words. Now I need to prove that he's right. When one of the best managers in the world puts confidence like that in you, you can only feel good. I want to pay him back by training and performing well."
Pereira is probably ready for a first-team role as a backup 'keeper at a top club or as first choice a little further down the table. If David De Gea and Sergio Romero are both at Old Trafford next season, a campaign on loan somewhere would probably be excellent for his development. Given his manager believes his potential to be among the elite, he would doubtless be welcomed with open arms on his return.
2. Axel Tuanzebe
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Speaking of Mourinho, during pre-season, he was clear about what he thought of Tuanzebe. After the youngster had been given a 10-minute cameo against Wigan Athletic, his manager told MUTV (h/t Chris Davie of Goal): "You can play 90 minutes or one minute. Sometimes one minute is enough. With Axel, 10 minutes is enough. I only needed 10 minutes to know his potential. You can see it immediately."
His potential has been clear for some time. At the end of the 2014/15 season, he won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year prize for being the best junior in United's squad. At the end of the 2016/17 campaign, he won the Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year gong. That is a double only Giuseppe Rossi has managed since the awards switched to their current format in 1990.
If Tuanzebe can avoid the kind of injuries that have plagued Rossi, the sky is the limit. He has grown in stature, but perhaps more importantly, he has become an assured and confident young man. His acceptance speeches for those two awards showed just how comfortable he is in the spotlight.
And when Mourinho finally called upon him to step into the first team, he was ready. His performance against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium was particularly outstanding, as the 19-year-old nullified the threat of Alexis Sanchez—no mean feat for an experienced defender, let alone one so young.
Mourinho should give him the Rashford treatment next season—Tuanzebe is ready for the big time.
After all, you only have to watch him for 10 minutes to see his potential.
1. Angel Gomes
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Angel Gomes in May became the youngest player to play for Manchester United's first team since Duncan Edwards in 1953. In an endearing interview with MUTV after coming on for his debut as a substitute for Wayne Rooney against Palace, he said (h/t the club's official website):
"Obviously, it's a dream come true. I've been here since the age of six, working my way up and it's what everyone dreams about. I just want to thank the manager for putting me on the bench and playing me today, and all the staff back at the club and everyone who has helped me. I'm from Manchester, Salford and it's literally down the road. It's just unbelievable."
Back in September, Bleacher Report profiled Gomes in detail. A season on, the key thesis still stands. Gomes' ceiling could be as high as it gets for a footballer. He won the Jimmy Murphy award for the 2016/17 season and has continued to impress in a fine under-18s squad.
In a way, he benefits from his youth in topping this chart. The others are still relatively unknown quantities, but each is more well-known than Gomes. Given he is just 16, anything could happen from here.
And although this is an inherently loaded comparison, the player he is most reminiscent of in style could not be clearer. This is not a claim that matches him for potential, but watching Gomes in action, it is impossible not to be reminded of a young Lionel Messi. That is a stylistic comparison rather than a comparison of quality, but Gomes has plenty of the latter too.
It seems unlikely he will feature in anything but the briefest cameos for the senior side next season, but time is on his side. And given the tools at his disposal, so is his potential.
Quotations obtained firsthand where not otherwise stated.
Advanced data per WhoScored.com.
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