Few players in Manchester United’s academy have attracted as much attention as Harry Amass has throughout 2024.. Signed from Watford in August 2023, many United supporters were first alerted to the left-back’s development when he was pictured training with the first-team in February. His performances in training and for both the Under-18s and the Under-21s saw Amass, 17, named in the senior team’s matchday squad on seven occasions towards the end of last season.. Though he never made it off the bench to earn his senior debut for the club, the fact former United boss Erik ten Hag had seen enough of the former Watford youngster to believe he was worthy of a handful of appearances on the bench was a positive.. Starved of senior left-backs in pre-season, Amass was invited on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States, and he wasn’t just given a seat on the plane to make up the numbers. He started each of the three Stateside friendlies, producing an accomplished performance on each occasion, earning widespread plaudits.. However, Amass is still waiting to be handed his senior debut. This season, he has been named on the bench five times – twice by Ten Hag and three times by Ruud van Nistelrooy.. So far, however, he has not featured in Ruben Amorim’s matchday plans. It has been reported elsewhere that Amass’ ongoing wait for his competitive debut is down to concerns he’s not yet physical enough for the demands of first-team football at Old Trafford.. Despite being undoubtedly talented, Ten Hag warned in August that Amass was not quite ready to make the step up to first-team football on a regular basis, explaining: “He is not that far along now [as Kobbie Mainoo was] at this moment, but if we train him well, if we coach him well, then in three months it’s possible that he can be at that point.. “But in this moment he needs to catch up and he has to develop some of the skills needed to play for Manchester United, when we are competing for the highest position in the league. But with big talent it can go very quickly and it is very interesting to see if he is capable of doing this.”. Harry Amass excelled in pre-season. (Image: Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images.). More than four months have passed since Ten Hag made that admission and Amass’ wait for a first-team chance is still ongoing. It is understandable for supporters to want to see a young talent thrown into the team, but United’s ongoing struggles hardly create the ideal environment for a young player, do they?. It is why United should be exploring the possibility of shipping Amass out on loan in January. He has frequently excelled at youth level in the past 12 months or so, meaning he should now be given the chance to try and express himself in a competitive environment at senior level. Amass is likely to be an attractive option for clubs on the hunt for a left-sided defender.. A loan exit could draw comparisons with Liverpool’s decision to ship Conor Bradley out to Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2022. Aged 18 at the time of the move, the now-21-year-old excelled, benefitting from earning regular game time. He played 53 times, scoring seven goals and registering six assists. He often played as a wing-back, being more comfortable attacking rather than defending.. Get United transfer news and updates on WhatsApp!. Our team of Manchester United experts are on top of all the goings-on at Old Trafford for this week and beyond, and you can get the latest team news, injury updates, reaction and analysis along with inside information to your phone by joining our new free WhatsApp community. You can also join the 50,000 (and growing!) band of United fans who are following our WhatsApp Channel.. Sign up to our community here, and join our WhatsApp channel here.. –. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.. The Manchester Evening News was told by one of Amass’ former youth coaches in September that the United youngster is also, at this stage, better suited to attacking opposed to defending. That means finding a club that operates with wing-backs could be key in the prospect of United allowing him to leave on loan.. Bradley, following his return from Bolton, made 23 appearances for Liverpool last season, highlighting just how big a role his stint in League One aided his progress. There is no reason why Amass cannot benefit in the same way, especially when United have left-sided defensive issues.
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