Ruben Amorim reportedly stopped a Manchester United academy duo from featuring for the u21s as he sees them as key to first team preparations.
Manchester United u21s defeated West Ham on Monday to advance to the Premier League 2 semi-finals but there were some missing faces on the day.
Namely, Bendito Mantato and Jaydan Kamason were not involved in Travis Binnion’s side after travelling with the first team to Bilbao last week.
It has since been reported by Mail Sport journalist Nathan Salt that “they are key to preparations for first team 2nd leg this week and will be part of Amorim’s training group again. Couldn’t be risked today.”
A convincing 3-0 win in the first leg away to Athletic Bilbao puts Amorim firmly in the driving seat ahead of the second leg but he isn’t willing to take any risks.
While the teenage duo were named on Amorim’s bench last week, both have yet to make their senior debuts.
But it is not only on the pitch on matchday where they can make a difference. With a threadbare squad, it will be tough to replicate Bilbao’s setup in training to test United’s starting XI.
With great pace and direct running, Mantato poses a lot of the same threat that United can expect to face from Bilbao’s Williams brothers, Inaki and Nico.
Similarly with Kamason’s attacking nature from right-back, it makes the duo a great training to tool to test Amorim’s backline which has often chopped and changed from week to week due to injuries and availability.
Debuts under the lights at Old Trafford aren’t out of the question though.
The recent involvements of Chido Obi, Harry Amass, and Tyler Fredricson show Amorim is opening up to the idea of introducing academy players and a sizable lead over Bilbao presents a perfect opportunity to introduce a couple more.
A versatile player, Mantato has came through the ranks regularly playing both left-back and as a right-winger which lends him nicely to play either of Amorim’s wing-back slots or potentially as the inside right 10.
Meanwhile, Kamason’s attacking prowess at right-back would see him push to right wing-back, a position which has been hit heavily with injuries.
Despite their promotion to the first team, Mantato and Kamason were both still at Leigh Sports Village on Monday to cheer on their u21s teammates, staying true to their academy roots.
Featured image James Fearn via Getty Images
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Colm Murphy
A football obsessed Canadian who moved to England to enjoy the beautiful game. Colm has been keen follower of Manchester United’s famed academy since seeing a fresh faced Adnan Januzaj for the club’s u18s and has been writing about football with a focus on youth development for over 10 years.
