Fabrizio Romano 
@FabrizioRomano - 30m
22-year-old CDM Boubacar Kamara from Olympique Marseille to AS Roma for £36.7m. Here we go! #Roma
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United Handle Newcastle on Boxing Day
Manchester United dominated Newcastle to Close Out the First Half
By Felix Short 
| December 26, 2021, 11:59 PM EST
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was named man of the match for securing his first goal of the season. (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)
Newcastle upon Tyne, England – Manchester United and Newcastle United met again today, Boxing Day, for their Premier League match up at St. James’ Park. United entered the game fourth in the league table, while Newcastle floated above the relegation zone in fifteenth. The two faced each other in September at Old Trafford, when Manchester United won 3-2, which was the first win of Thomas Walker’s Manchester United career.
The game started back and forth with both teams setting up to counter early, and the first ten minutes seemed like a game where 20 players went running back and forth as they traded turnovers and steals. Then, Newcastle broke through and opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Allan Saint-Maximin, whom the Newcastle offense had been channeled through early, found Callum Wilson near the middle of the pitch. Wilson took a step to his left then fired a beautiful shot to the top left corner of the net. David De Gea had no chance.
But Manchester United would answer quickly, with Hannibal Mejbri and Aaron Wan-Bissaka playing a little give-and-go on the right flank, with Bissaka hitting Mejbri for a golden chance. Hannibal slammed it through center-back Fabian Schär’s legs and into the back of the net in the fourteenth minute. United wasn’t done there, and Mejbri and Wan-Bissaka teamed up again just three minutes later. Mejbri got a shot off, which was blocked, but the rebound fell at the feet of Wan-Bissaka who slammed it into the back of the net for his first goal of the season. After seventeen minutes, Manchester United led Newcastle 2-1 and had the momentum.
Manchester United would score again just before the half, when a cross from Marcus Rashford toward Cristiano Ronaldo went over Ronaldo’s head, who had slipped and fell on the play. The ball made its way to Bruno Fernandes who discovered that Ronaldo, who was just rising to his feet, had been left completely alone by the defense. Fernandes found him in front of net for an easy tap in in the 45th+2 minute. The play was checked by VAR for offsides, but it was ruled good as United took a 3-1 lead into half time.
Early in the second half, Manchester United would strike again, off a corner, when Newcastle goalkeeper Karl Darlow came too far off his line to get the ball, and misjudged it, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to find an easy header into an open net. In the 62nd minute, Allan Saint-Maximin, who had produced the majority of all the offensive momentum for Newcastle, was handed a red card for tackling Hannibal Mejbri on a clear breakaway. Without their offensive engine, Newcastle crumbled and Manchester United cruised through an easy second half and toward a 4-1 win at St. James’ Park.
“We played well,” said United manager Thomas Walker, “We did the things we needed to do. We had a good game plan, and we executed on it. We were a little sloppy for the first few minutes, but the lads really put it all together quickly, and overall, we played well. There’s really not much more that needs to be said.”
The brace gave Ronaldo sixteen goals through the first nineteen games of the Premier League season, meaning that he is on pace to tie the Premier League record, set in 2017-18 by Liverpool’s Mo Salah, for the most goals in a single season. That record currently stands at 32.
Despite Ronaldo’s brace, it was Aaron Wan-Bissaka who was awarded man of the match. He was credited with an assist on Hannibal Mejbri’s goal and scored himself in the seventeenth minute. It was his best offensive showing of the season, by far. Also impressive was Mejbri, who has really made himself comfortable in the Manchester United lineup. As surprising as it is to say, considering he started the season in the youth academy, Mejbri is someone that Manchester United will miss when he makes the trip to AFCON next month.
With the win, Manchester United stay in fourth in the league table with 35 points. Newcastle also sits still at fifteenth, with 18 points through 19 games. Manchester United will host Burnley on Wednesday. Newcastle will make the trip to face Everton the same day as both teams will look to close out 2021 with a win.
Newcastle: 1
Goal Scorers: Callum Wilson (10'); Assists: Allan Saint-Maximin
Manchester United: 4
Goal Scorers: Hannibal Mejbri (14'), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (17'), Cristiano Ronaldo (45'+2), Cristiano Ronaldo (56'); Assists: Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Bruno Fernandes, Bruno Fernandes
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Manchester United @ManUtd - 3h
Congratulations to David De Gea on his 450th Manchester United Appearance! #MUFC
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Ronaldo: 'I Want the Record'
Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has his eyes set on the single season scoring record
By Felix Short | December 27, 2021, 7:30 AM EST
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace on Boxing Day to put him on pace for the record (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)
Manchester, England – Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo settled into an interview with the BBC’s Jake Humphrey before yesterday’s match with Newcastle. The feature didn’t broadcast until after the game last night, as part of a bigger Boxing Day special that the network ran. During the interview, Cristiano Ronaldo made a bold claim that set the Twittersphere ablaze.
“I’m going to set the record,” Ronaldo told Humphrey, “It’s going to happen this year. I want it to happen. Walker is on board with giving me the minutes. I think that is my one personal goal for this season and I’m very confident that I’m going to hit it.”
Ronaldo was speaking about the single season goal record set by Liverpool forward Mo Salah during the 2017-18 season. That year, Salah scored 32 for Liverpool in the Premier League. That was part of a 44-goal season that introduced Salah to the world. It was also his first year with Liverpool.
This year, Ronaldo’s first leaving for the Bernabéu in 2009, the superstar has already bagged sixteen goals in his team’s first nineteen games Premier League games. That number was only fourteen when he gave that interview, but a Boxing Day brace at St. James’ Park last night catapulted Ronaldo towards the pace necessary to tie Salah’s record.
His two goals last night constituted two more career milestones. With his second half goal, Cristiano Ronaldo notched his 700th career club goal. That goal also put him on the illustrious list of players with 100 career Premier League goals. Ronaldo becomes the 31st player in history to score 100 career Premier League goals, joining other Manchester United legends Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole and Wayne Rooney.
Ronaldo has only appeared in eighteen of United’s nineteen first half games, and only started seventeen, so it’s feasible that he would be on pace to surpass Salah if he had played every minute. Ronaldo also has eight goals in four Champions’ League games this year.
If Cristiano Ronaldo were to set the Premier League record, it would just be another in a remarkable career of accomplishments. Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or five times in his career and scored 813 goals for club and country. Earlier this season he set the all-time career goal mark for any player.
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Bailly, Mejbri Called Up for AFCON
Thomas Walker Supportive of Mejbri, Bailly's Opportunity at AFCON
By Felix Short | December 27, 2021, 7:35 AM EST
Eric Bailly has been a formidable center-back for the Ivory Coast (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)
Manchester, England – Manchester United will be without center-back Eric Bailly and forward Hannibal Mejbri for the month of January, as both players have been called up to their respective national teams to participate in next month’s African Cup of Nations.
“It’s an amazing honor for those guys,” said United manager Thomas Walker, “It’s an amazing feat to be able to represent your nation and they’re going to do an incredible job. We’re really excited for them.”
Both Bailly and Mejbri are scheduled to leave for Cameroon, the host nation of this year’s tournament, after United’s year-ending match with Burnley. They will stay in Cameroon for the duration of the tournament and are expected back at United no-sooner than January 31st.
Eric Bailly has played a bigger role for Manchester United this season than he has in recent seasons, partly due to his ability to stay healthy, and partly because his play style better fits what Walker is trying to do. He has appeared in 18 games for United this season, recorded one assist, and has paired nicely with Raphaël Varane.
18-year-old Hannibal Mejbri will also be missed. Since his first game against Portsmouth F.C. in the League Cup, Mejbri has impressed time and time again. He has made nine appearances and scored three goals. He’s also recorded three assists and been an all-around dynamic player for United. He is expected to see his role grow when he returns to United in February.
Amad was the last United player under consideration for AFCON, but the Ivory Coast made the decision to leave him off the roster. He made his international debut for the Ivory Coast this past summer but has been left off the roster in recent international windows. While Amad looks to have a bright future with his national team, he had been trending toward being left off the roster for some time.
There have been serious reservations about the tournament in recent seasons from Premier League teams and managers, as the tournament does not take place during a FIFA-certified international break, so Thomas Walker earned praise for taking a more enthusiastic, prideful approach to the tournament in recent days.
Algeria is considered the favorite heading into the tournament.
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What I'm Hearing: Ove Hanssen to Train With First Team
United's Academy Staff Feel Hanssen Could Help Alleviate a Forward Shortage After Impressing With the Under-23's
By Logan Plant / @plantlounited 
/ December 27, 2021, 8:30 AM EST
Ove Hanssen has been the engine that runs the Under-23 Offense in Recent Weeks (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)
What I'm Hearing - Sources tell RedDevilUnited that Manchester United is planning on having Ove Hanssen train with the first team moving forward, in preparation for his potential debut for Manchester United’s senior team sometime in January.
Thomas Walker and his staff are worried about squad depth with Jadon Sancho out for the season with a Torn ACL, and Hannibal Mejbri preparing to take the trip to Cameroon for AFCON. Mejbri will not be available for the totality of January.
Ove Hanssen was an under the radar signing for Manchester United this past summer, agreeing to come over as part of a package-deal for his much more renowned younger brother Daniel. But since the Hanssen’s moved to Manchester from Lillestrøm, Norway this summer, it has been Ove that has really impressed consistently.
Ove spent the first few weeks with United’s Under-18 team, before being transitioned into the Under-23 squad as Hannibal Mejbri earned his first chances with the senior team. The transition for Ove, much like Hannibal, has been seamless and some observers feel that United’s Under-23 offense has been even smoother with Ove then it was with Hannibal leading the charge. That’s almost hard to believe with how impressive Hannibal has been with the big boys.
“He’s too good for the kid’s league,” said the source, who is intimately familiar with United’s academy, “but unlike Hannibal I’m a little concerned about him fitting with the senior squad. He’s just really small, and physically I’m worried about him holding up in the Premier League. The guys up there are just so physical, and the game is so demanding, I’m a bit worried about him getting bullied.”
Those words of caution did come with a positive twist, “If he can get comfortable, man, he’s special on the ball. He has talent and an awareness and an understanding of what’s happening around him that’s pretty rare.”
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The Inside Story of Thomas Walker's Decision to Become Manchester United's Next Manager
By Oliver Lewis December 28, 2021
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MANCHESTER, ENG - Early in the morning of the 24th of May, Thomas Walker arrived at his hotel in the French city of Angers. He was exhausted, having celebrated with his team, after LOSC Lille clinched the Ligue Un title with a 2-1 win over the local club. Walker put his phone down, then noticed he received a test message from his agent.
“They want you.”
Those three words were all that Walker needed to see. He didn’t sleep that night, and still hadn’t slept when his team boarded the flight back to the north of France. When Walker arrived, his agent, the sender of that text message, was waiting for him. Daniel van de Velde, Walker’s agent, had been in constant communication with Ed Woodward, the Chief Executive of the storied Manchester United Football Club, over the past several weeks.
Manchester United had announced weeks earlier that they would not be manned by Ole Gunnar Skolsjær, who had led United for the previous thirty months, next season. Ed Woodward wanted to make a fundamental shift before his own departure came in early 2022, and he, along with the executive board, felt that Skolskjær was not the right man for the job.
Walker and van de Velde understood that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Walker. He was only 33 and had never coached at one of the world’s premier clubs. His resume, compared to his competitors, was, as he might say, small potatoes.
It wasn’t his experience that made Walker the guy for United. It was all the other aspects that Walker had become well-known for in coaching circles that intrigued, then impressed, Ed Woodward and the United board.
Walker was on the cutting edge of improvement in every aspect. He had a unique ability to be everywhere at once, involved in every aspect of a club, working to make it better, faster, more efficient. Walker seemed to be in control of every little detail.
“He would put in twenty-hour days the day after a game in order to scout his next opponent,” said an anonymous source familiar with the inner workings at LOSC Lille. “But then the next day he would walk around with nothing to do, as if he was bored. He was so overly focused on every aspect that he would finish everything quickly and be left with all this free time to meander and help everyone else do their job.”
It was this maniacal nature that led Walker to expand his roles and areas of expertise over time. He became more involved with the youth teams, he expanded training hours, he involved himself in the recruitment side of the game, he began paying attention to nutrition and sports science. Walker was there for everything. For United, who has had hands off managers since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Walker was an obviously intriguing candidate.
His success didn’t hurt either. Walker had just completed his third full successful season in Ligue Un, one of the top five leagues in the world. The culmination of his time, and effort, and energy, at Lille came during that celebration in May in Angers.
Two days after learning that he was the man that Manchester United wanted, he still hadn’t made a decision over whether he should accept it. He had been working with the teenagers in Lille’s youth set up for most of the previous two days. That’s another part of what made Manchester United decide on Walker.
United’s best teams, the Busby Boys of the 1960’s and Fergy’s Fledgelings of the 1990’s era became the building blocks that Manchester United’s greatest teams were built on. The club has a proud tradition of producing youth talent and they had gotten away from that in recent years. Few of United’s current roster of impact players are academy projects.
Only Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay and Jesse Lingard hold the distinction of being both a regular starter and an academy kid through and through. Paul Pogba also graduated from the academy but didn’t became a star for United until after an £89 million transfer from Juventus, where he spent four years in Italy before returning to United in 2016.
To reorganize the youth program and to get it working in high gear, Ed Woodward and the United Board wanted a manager who believed in the project. Thomas Walker had proven he did. That’s what set him apart from bigger names like Zinedine Zidane, Mauricio Pochettino, and Antonio Conte. All were more accomplished, but none had the track record with developing youngsters that Walker had.
And while it’s more romantic to think that United was looking to get back to the glory days of producing Manchester boys like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Phil Neville, it likely had more to do with the fact that Manchester United had lost, on net, over £1 billion in transfer fees over the past ten years.
In order to better equip themselves financially, the club needed to improve their youth program. They needed to replace ten figure transfer fees for rotation level players with academy players that cost a fraction. Manchester United’s current roster includes fourteen players who cost more than £30 million to acquire. In total, those fourteen players cost United over £691 million to purchase. Few of those players have any sort of sell on value now.
Enter Walker, who has demonstrated over the last four years at Lille that he has the ability to take young players, make them better, sell those players and still compete for championships. Ed Woodward is hoping that some of United’s Youth Players can either replace the £30 million spent by being capable players for the senior squad, or at least result in transfer fees that can offset the cost of buying better players.
They also realized that United was behind the times when it came to sports science, sports psychology and the more analytical and scientific aspects of being a professional athlete in the year 2021. They wanted to improve, they wanted to adapt, and they want to lead in those ways, but they needed a coach who would also buy in to that vision.
In essence, they wanted Thomas Walker for everything that he already was. When van de Velde called him that night, two days since United made the decision to offer him the job, Walker finally agreed. It wasn’t the money that made Walker decide to come to United. It wasn’t the prestige of joining one of the most storied clubs in world football. No. It was Ed Woodward’s promise to Walker that he could be exactly who he already was.
When Walker was sure of that, he made the decision. He would be the next Manchester United coach.
(Photos by Holly Richardson / Associated Press)
MEHSOLID AWESOME
Oliver Lewis is a staff writer at The Athletic covering Manchester United. Previously, he wrote for ESPN. Follow Oliver on Twitter @OliverLewisAthletic.
31-year-old Winger Eduardo Salvio will move from Boca Juniors to Valencia for £20.3m. Argentine excited for chance in Europe. Here we go! #Valencia
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United Close 2021 With Statement
The Old Trafford Faithful Were Treated to a Drubbing of Burnley
By Felix Short | December 29, 2021, 11:59 PM EST
Anthony Elanga opened the scoring in the 22nd minute before leaving at halftime with an injury. (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)
Manchester, England – Manchester United welcomed sixteenth-place Burnley to Old Trafford on Wednesday for the last game of 2021. The fourth place Red Devils delivered for their home crowd and completed a successful December with a resounding 4-1 win over the Clarets to push themselves into the top three of the Premier League.
Manchester United struggled to break lines in the early portion of the game, with one exception, in the 5th minute, when Hannibal Mejbri played a through ball to Marcus Rashford, that took an extraordinary save from Burnley keeper Wayne Hennessy to keep out of net. Aside from that one chance, Burnley looked solid for much of the first fifteen minutes. Burnley’s defense broke down from there. United got their next chance in the 17th minute when Mejbri found Anthony Elanga for an opportunity that Elanga put wide left.
United did break the dead lock in the 22nd minute when, on the counterattack, Cristiano Ronaldo floated a ball over the center-backs and into the space before the keeper. Anthony Elanga flashed his pace to beat the defenders to the ball. At this point he had a one-on-one with the goalkeeper and this time he put the shot on target. There was nothing Hennessy could do about it as United took a 1-0 lead. Marcus Rashford provided an excellent opportunity for Mejbri in the 31st minute, but that ball was also saved by Hennessy. Burnley wouldn’t get their first real chance until the 45th minute, when Wout Weghorst put a shot on goal. But David De Gea was there to make the save and United took their 1-0 lead into intermission.
The second half was a different, much more dominant story for the home side. Manchester United doubled their lead in the 65th when the defense became too focused on United’s attacking four and lost track of Scott McTominay. Anthony Martial made the pass to a streaking McTominay who had space, took the shot, and gave United a 2-0 lead in the 65th minute. Just two minutes later, United notched another one when Cristiano Ronaldo drew the center-back out of position in the 67th minute. Ronaldo dumped the ball into the vacated space, where Hannibal Mejbri collected it. Mejbri used his body to shield the ball from Burnley defender Ben Mee before chipping the ball past the keeper in a display of pure professionalism from the youngster.
Manchester United notched another one in the 81st minute when Edinson Cavani found an inward cutting Marcus Rashford, who beat his man to the center and put the ball past the keeper. Burnley would answer before the game was out, in the 89th minute, when United’s defense failed to pick up Dwight McNeil, who ran free into the box. The defense collapsed on McNeil who found Wout Weghorst in front of net for the tap in to close out the game. It was nothing but a consolation prize for the Cadets, as the day ended after a proper drubbing from United.
“We played well,” said United manager Thomas Walker after the game, “We did the things we came to do. We did them effectively, we did them well. We had a game plan and we executed and I’m proud of our guys for that. They really did everything they were supposed to and it looked like they had a bit of fun while they were doing it.”
United did face a bit of bad news, as Anthony Elanga was forced to leave the game early today, after scoring in the 22nd minute. In the 30th minute, Elanga and Burnley defender Charlie Taylor collided, and Elanga fell awkwardly on his shoulder. Elanga stayed in the game for the rest of the first half but was removed at halftime. We’re expected to know more about the severity of Elanga’s injury in the morning. He has been a bright spot for United this season and is expected to play an even bigger role now that Jadon Sancho will miss the season with a torn ACL.
Scott McTominay went down as the man of the match for his impressive performance defensively today, as well as his 65th minute goal. United entered the summer believing they had major deficiencies at the holding midfield position, but Thomas Walker has been able to get the best out of both Fred and Scott McTominay in recent weeks. Also worthy of note was the performance of 18-year-old Hannibal Mejbri, who was filling in for Bruno Fernandes today, and did so quite admirably. Mejbri looks so calm and collected on the ball and is so good at advancing the ball into dangerous areas that United’s offense can seem Mejbri-centric at times. Manchester United will certainly miss Mejbri when he’s in Cameroon at AFCON next month.
With the win, Manchester United moves up to third in the league table with 38 points, capping off a tremendous December. Burnley falls to seventeenth with the loss, with seventeen points after nineteen match days. They currently sit one spot above the relegation zone. United will next be in action on Saturday, January 1st, when they host Wolves. Burnley will travel to Leeds on the same day.
Burnley: 1
Goal Scorers: Wout Weghorst (89'); Assists: Dwight McNeil
Manchester United: 4
Goal Scorers: Anthony Elanga (22'), Scott McTominay (65'), Hannibal Mejbri (67'), Marcus Rashford (81'); Assists: Cristiano Ronaldo, Anthony Martial, Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani
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Elanga Injury Not Considered Serious
Anthony Elanga Injured His Shoulder in Yesterday's Win Against Burnley
By Felix Short | December 30, 2021, 7:30 AM EST
Anthony Elanga has been a pleasant surprise this season (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)
Manchester, England – Manchester United will be without teenage forward Anthony Elanga for the next few days as he recovers from a shoulder injury. There is no structural damage, so Elanga should be able to play again once the injury heals. Elanga fell awkwardly on that shoulder in the 30th minute of yesterday’s win when he collided with Burnley’s Charlie Taylor.
“Elanga has been really good,” said Thomas Walker after the game, “We think he’ll be able to rub some dirt on it. He’s an electric player and I see him getting better every game. I’m really impressed with Anthony. I’m happy he’s been a part of our team.”
If Elanga has any sort of extended absence, it could be problematic for Manchester United, who are now painfully thin on the wing. Jadon Sancho tore his ACL two weeks ago and Hannibal Mejbri is going to spending January in Cameroon. Without Elanga, United is down to just Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Amad.
This depth issue may force United to adapt their transfer plans, and think about adding a player during the January transfer window. It’s well known that they will be in the market for an attacking option next summer, with Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani set to leave, but perhaps they will move up their timeline.
They may also consider recalling one of their loanees, such as Facundo Pellistri, who has spent the season in Spain’s La Liga with Alavés. Tahith Chong, who is with English Championship side Birmingham City, could also be an option.
Of course, the best option is to get Elanga back immediately. Elanga has appeared in fifteen games this season for Thomas Walker’s Red Devils and has scored eight goals and notched one assist in that time. He has really come on as of late, developing into a legitimate option for Walker.
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What I'm Hearing: Hutchison, Savage, Hansen-Aarøen, Garnacho
There is a lot of excitement about the crop of youngsters that are starring in United's Academy
By Logan Plant / @plantlounited / December 31, 2021, 7:30 AM EST
Logan Hutchison has been a revelation in recent weeks for United Under-18's (Michael Bradley/Manchester Guardian)
What I’m Hearing – Manchester United has one of the most celebrated youth academies in world soccer, having produced some of the legends of the game including the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Sir Bobby Charlton, Ryan Giggs and Phil Neville. Today, the youth academy is still an integral part of the lifeblood of United’s identity. With that in mind, here are some things I’m hearing about the youngsters.
Logan Hutchison – Logan Hutchison has been the talk of the academy in recent weeks, emerging as a legitimate prospect as a winger. Hutchison, who has been with United’s Academy since he was eight, just recently made the transition from holding midfielder to winger, and the Academy staff have seen a completely different player since then. We’re talking about a guy who was the last man on the roster, with a questionable future as a professional, to a guy who looks like he may one day don the Red Jersey for the senior squad. I’m told that Hutchison, as much as anyone, has benefitted from the nutrition and training regimens implemented by Thomas Walker and his guys when they arrived at Old Trafford. In June, Hutchison was a 5-foot-9, 125-pound kid, who was vastly undersized. Now, he’s grown to 6-foot-1 and weighing in over 170-pounds of pure muscle. The physical change allowed Hutchison to show who he truly is on the pitch and has turned himself into one of the best wingers in the Academy. Hutchison turns 17 in January and has spent the six months transforming himself from a forgotten throw-in, to a star for the Under-18 squad. He seems poised to begin getting minutes with the Under-23’s next month, and United is really excited to see how he holds up.
Charlie Savage – Speaking of players that have really benefitted from the new nutrition and strength program, Charlie Savage is also near the top of the list. Savage has always been an all-around solid midfielder for United’s youth teams, but he has now gotten his body to a place where the staff feels he can also be a solid all-around midfielder at the professional level. At 6-foot, Savage has grown to over 150-pounds and now has the feel of an adult who won’t easily get bullied. There are still doubts about his long-term potential to be a star at Manchester United, but most of the staff for United’s Academy feel like he will get a chance. He seems like he will follow the path of former Academy midfielders Dylan Levitt, Ethan Galbraith and Jimmy Garner and spend next season on-loan in the either League One or the Championship as a way to test himself and develop against grown men. For now, he will likely finish the season as a solid midfielder for United’s Under-23’s and may find himself earning his first cap for the senior team at some point this season.
Steinar Hansen-Aarøen – We profiled Steinar Hansen-Aarøen in early December when he signed his first professional contract with United as a 16-year-old. That happened on December 2nd. Since then, he’s blown the staff away. He has a man’s body, breaking the 180-pound mark at just over 6-foot-1. He uses that body well and has frankly bullied his competition physically at the Under-18 level. One staff member told me that he’s amazed at how much different these kids look physically than they did just a year ago, and Steinar Hansen-Aarøen is one of the reason’s he says that. I’m told that Steinar has also been used more as a box-to-box midfielder with good ability going forward and in defense. When he signed, he was thought to be more of a holding midfielder with potential at full-back or even center-back. It’s clear now that he is a classic eight, and a really good one at that. As a left-footed player, he also adds a versatility and uniqueness that may be able to be used creatively moving forward. This is a kid that the United Academy staff have loved having around, which is truly impressive considering he just joined the professional ranks earlier this month.
Alejandro Garnacho – Lastly, I want to mention Garnacho, who has spent most of this season with United’s Under-18 squad. Garnacho joined United from Atlético de Madrid in 2020 for £375k as one of the top youth prospects from Atlético’s well-regarded youth set up. While he has yet to truly make his mark for United, he has made a mark on the international coaches of both Argentina and Spain. Garnacho is eligible for both teams and has been recruited to play for both sides at the Youth Level. I’m hearing that Garnacho, who is still just 17, is expected to choose Argentina as his preferred national team during January’s window, where he will be a key player for their Under-20 set up. Garnacho idolized Cristiano Ronaldo growing up, part of the reason he elected to join Manchester United and seems poised to break out on the international scene prior to his first appearances with United’s senior team.
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Congratulations to Anthony Elanga, #MUFC December Player of the Month!
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