Wonderkid who was handed his United debut by Amorim could seal shock January exit – report

Manchester United’s squad could look a lot different come the January transfer window. Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo are agitating to leave, and based on their current form, INEOS should grant them their wish. Summer signing Diego Leon, and academy wonderkid James Scanlon have also been linked with a loan exit. With senior injured stars like Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire close to returning to action, Ayden Heaven could join the youngsters out on loan as per The Daily Mail. The ex-Arsenal star, who was handed his United debut by Amorim last season, has managed one start in the Carabao Cup and two appearances off the bench in the Premier League this season. Ayden Heaven set to leave on loan? Last term, the 19-year-old played six times, and it was expected that he would kick on from this campaign. That has not proven to be the case. With the Red Devils playing only once a week, naturally, there has not been as much need to rotate. And with Luke Shaw and Martinez in the squad, the England U20 international is effectively the third-choice left-footed defender. The 20-time English league champions clearly do not want his development to stagnate, and hence, are considering sending him out on loan in the winter. “Diego Leon and Sekou Kone are two of the young United players who could go out on loan in January, and Ayden Heaven’s situation is also likely to be assessed. Amorim needs to be careful given injuries at the back “The talented 19-year-old defender has shown plenty of promise under Ruben Amorim, but he has played just 92 minutes this season and was an unused substitute in Monday’s defeat by Everton at Old Trafford. “United having only one game a week has certainly put a major roadblock in Heaven’s development path. Lisandro Martinez’s return on the bench against Everton pushes Heaven down to third-choice left centre back, behind the Argentine and Luke Shaw. “And his place on the bench could even be at risk once Harry Maguire is fit again in the coming weeks.” A loan move to the Championship makes a lot of sense, but given the injury records of both Martinez and Shaw, hopefully, the decision does not come back to bite Amorim later on in the campaign. Feature image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25