Ever since his appointment, Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has not been afraid of taking bold selection calls and he took another on Thursday for the Europa League game against Rangers, opting to hand Toby Collyer his first European start in the middle of the park.
The academy graduate had impressed in his recent cameos against Arsenal and Southampton and the Portuguese opted to include him in the starting XI ahead of Casemiro, who was once again sat on the bench.
The 21-year-old acquitted himself well after a nervous start and eventually grew into the game. He kept things nice and tidy in the midfield, just what the coach would have wanted from the 21-year-old.
When asked about what he felt after the game, the former England U17 international told MUTV, “It’s great. I think these are the nights you dream of playing, as a kid and now as well.
Collyer impressed on his first European start
“It’s great experience for me, great exposure and, with the players around me, they helped me through the game. So I think I was able to show some of the qualities I possess.”
The young Englishman was tipped to enjoy a breakthrough year when Erik ten Hag was in charge of the Red Devils but things didn’t go as planned for the Dutchman who was sacked in October.
The former Brighton academy starlet must have thought the worse when Amorim came in, especially as the new coach’s arrival coincided with the midfielder picking up an injury that kept him out for over a month.
But he has kept working hard behind-the-scenes and his impressive training displays became hard to ignore with Amorim affording him more and more chances recently.
“Since coming back from the injury I needed to get fully confident when I was back and get up to speed, now I’m making steps with the system and I’m excited to make more steps.
And according to the defensive midfielder, he fits Amorim’s system and is hoping for further starts down the line after impressing against the Scottish giants under the lights at Old Trafford.
“I think the system has been good, I think it suits every player, gives every player options on the pitch and out of possession it helps everyone. I think it’s a really good system.
Fits Amorim’s system
“Amorim demands a lot from everyone which is really good. It means we can improve as a team and as individual as well. I’m hoping for more starts.
“We’ve definitely not had many training sessions but I think, in the ones we have had, everyone is trying to understand the head coach’s tactical plan their best and make steps. It’s all we can do, make steps. It’s slow progress but we’ll get there in the end.”
Collyer seems to have worked his way into the coach’s thinking and is ahead of both the Brazilian and Christian Eriksen in the pecking order due to the energy he brings in the middle of the park.
It has been quite the turnaround for the midfield ace who was mulling over leaving on loan in January. But Amorim has blocked his exit and now, more first-team chances beckon.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
