Ruben Amorim has taken the opportunity to blood some of Manchester United’s academy players into first-team training ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup third-round trip to Arsenal
Ruben Amorim has given four academy players a chance to shake up the club’s training sessions.
Amorim is still figuring out which players he can trust at Manchester United, after a challenging initial few months in charge.
The 39-year-old has only managed to secure four wins from his 12 matches so far and is currently on a four-match winless run, although the last of these was a commendable 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield.
Another stern challenge awaits this Sunday when United head to north London to face Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup. Newcastle recently became the first team to claim victory at the Emirates Stadium since Aston Villa in April, highlighting the magnitude of the task ahead for Amorim.
The United boss has decided to bring in young talents Jack Moorhouse, Tyler Fredricson, Godwill Kukonki and Elyh Harrison to train at Carrington in preparation for the match.
These four academy players were seen braving the cold on Wednesday alongside the regular first-team stars.
Harrison, an 18-year-old goalkeeper, was recently brought back from his loan spell at National League North side Chester and was immediately thrown into the deep end to train with Andre Onana, Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton.
United are keen to give the young keeper more exposure between now and the end of the season, while his return also provides them with additional cover should Bayindir depart this month, reports the Mirror.
Manchester-born 19-year-old central midfielder Moorhouse, who has been playing primarily for the U21s side this season, has caught Amorim’s attention. He was nominated for the Premier League 2 player of the month award for December.
Kukonki, 16, and Fredricson, 19, both defenders, have also been involved under Amorim. Kukonki has been on the bench for matches against Arsenal and Newcastle and is considered a rising star from the club’s academy, while Fredricson has captained the U21s.
However, Marcus Rashford was notably absent from training on Wednesday. The United striker missed the 2-2 draw against Liverpool due to illness and is still recovering.
His brother and agent Dane was in Milan earlier this week discussing a potential loan move to AC Milan in the January transfer window. United would ideally like to sell the striker, but his £325,000-a-week wages and £40million valuation could prove prohibitive.