Youth development has played a major part in the history and
glory of Manchester United. Having, one of the best youth academies in all of
England, United have produced some exceptional, world class talents over the
years. Be it Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, the Neville brothers, Sir
Bobby Charlton, George Best and numerous others. The ones above may have all
retired, but all of them left a memorable legacy behind for all football fans
to remember. Moving onto a more recent scenario where with the development of modern
football, new training regimes, talented scouts, great facilities and infrastructure,
United have unearthed a new breed of academy graduates like Marcus Rashford,
Jesse Lingard, Angel Gomes, Scott McTominay, Joel Pereira, Demi Mitchell, Axel
Tuanzebe who are still young, in their prime, some even have broken into the
first team. With the arrival of Mourinho, fans thought that the long-lasting
tradition of youth development may be broken as the concept of youth development
is not that favourable with the Portuguese tactician. But as they say, ‘Everyone
falls in love with the magic of United’. Mourinho followed suit and continued
the long-lasting tradition.
Scott McTominay, one of the first players to be promoted in
the Mourinho regime has been handed a new four-year contract extension which
will keep him at Old Trafford until 2021. Scott, made his first team debut for
United in the Premier League last season, coming on as a substitute against
Arsenal, following his first start in the closing fixture of the 2016/17 EPL
campaign against Crystal Palace. His impressive performances with the reserves
led to him being added to the squad touring USA for the pre-season earlier this
season, where he caught the eyes of the coaches with impressive performances.
McTominay also came on as a substitute in the Carabao Cup fixture against
Burton Albion and his most recent cameo appearance in the Champions League
match against Benfica on Wednesday night.
Delighted with the club’s decision and trust in him the 20-year-old
central midfielder expressed his happiness and said, "I have grown up at
this great club and it has always been a big part of my life. I attended the club’s development centre in Preston from the age
of five and have gone on to progress from there. To make my debut at the end of last
season was a dream come true, and I would like to thank the manager for the
faith that he has shown in me. I was absolutely delighted when the manager
promoted me to the first-team squad and I am looking forward to continuing my
journey with this fantastic team."
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| McTominay Made His Debut Against Arsenal Last Season. |
Jose was also happy with the decision made by Scott and
said, "I am delighted Scott has signed a new contract, he is one of our
young players that has gone from strength to strength. He made his Premier
League debut at the end of last season and made his Champions League debut this
season. I had no hesitation in promoting Scott to the first-team squad last
month as we have total belief in him."
Standing tall at 6 feet 4 inches, McTominay is a gem of a
player to have in any squad. Having started off as a striker, ex reserves boss
Warren Joyce understood that his true potential lied in midfield. Scott can
play anywhere in the centre of the pitch as he possesses qualities of all key
areas, be it a defensive mid, box-to-box, attacking midfielder or even as an auxiliary
striker, due to his roots as a striker. He is the perfect example of a ‘Mourinho
Player’ because of his vast versatility. His height makes him capable of being
dominant in the air. His quality of great ball control and strength is an asset
to get the ball back into play with him being great in tackling. His strength also
makes him a player difficult to get the ball from as he is very good with the
ball at his feet.
His ability to play in the centre of the pitch has really
helped the reserves this season with Scott given the role of opening gaps the
opposition defence and letting his team mates run into the box and providing
them with precision through balls. You may think that how a youngster standing
over six feet only 20 can have such enormous pace and ball control? But McTominay
has it all, a rare gem to find. His pace and height can be used in attacking
also, as the player always runs into the box to score by finding open gaps. His
height can be used to direct headers from long balls into the net too. A role
similar to Fellaini. To sum it up, he is a mixture of Herrera, Matic and
Fellaini or a fusion of two United greats Roy Keane and Paul Scholes.
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| McTominay Is Has Potential To Be A United Great. |
His future is definitely secured at the club after his new
contract. It also indicates that Jose has a plan for the youngster after him
saying that he trusts him. With his capabilities his future lies in the central
midfield of United and will be in line to step for ageing captain, Michael
Carrick should he retire at the end of the season. McTominay is just the start
of Jose’s youth revolution and we believe that Scott will have a bright future
ahead. A brilliant and wise move by the manager and the club!
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