A number of Manchester United’s under-23 players returned to Carrington on Thursday for the first time since the lockdown.
There was one ‘surprise’ face on show as out of contract left-back Demetri Mitchell was back at United after his release on June 30.
Mitchell is looking for a new club and took up the offer to train with the rest of the under-23 players who were in attendance.
When he was released along with nine other young teammates, United stated that all outgoing players were invited to return to Carrington for the duration of ‘pre-season’ which is likely to extend up until September.
Mitchell was previously regarded as a potential first team option at left-back and featured on pre-season tour of the USA under Jose Mourinho.
A promising loan spell at Hearts followed, but injuries have derailed his career and this last year was a lost season as he did not go out on loan or play a single under-23 game.
United are trying to do the best by Mitchell and offer him the chance to keep his fitness up as he tries to find a new club.
Mitchell is now 23-years-old and will want to make up for lost time.
Good to see players back
United are looking to phase the returns so not the entire academy cohort was back.
Players who returned included Matej Kovar, Jacob Carney, Ondrej Mastny, Luca Ercolani, Dishon Bernard, Oliver Denham, Mark Helm, Harvey Neville, Lukasz Bejger, Charlie Wellens, Aliou Traore, Dylan Levitt, Ethan Galbraith, Connor Stanley, Reece Devine, and Arnau Puigmal.
Coaches Dave Kelly, Nicky Butt and Quinton Fortune were seen putting the young players through their paces.
There is no date yet currently set for the resumption of the under-23 season, but United are keen to get the players back together working as a group and get them put through their paces after a difficult few months.
They will want to be ready if a chance comes, while a handful of them may get the opportunity to go out on loan when the new season kicks off.
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