Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is not the type to just hand out chances for the sake of charity.
Alejandro Garnacho did not exactly get off to a great start under the Dutchman back in 2022, his attitude initially a cause for concern during that maiden pre-season.
Two years on, Garnacho is one of the first names on Erik ten Hag’s team sheet. Arguably the most effective ‘big game’ performer at Manchester United’s disposal.
Despite a few eye-catching displays during this summer’s tour of the USA, Ten Hag insists that left-back Harry Amass still has a long way to go before he can follow in the footsteps of both Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
Talent and potential is not enough at Old Trafford.
And, speaking ahead of Man United’s trip to Southampton on Saturday lunchtime, the former Ajax coach made it clear that every player in the Red Devils’ roster – not only the youngsters – must ‘earn the right to play’.
It is not just Toby Collyer’s talent, then, that has Ten Hag so in awe of the 20-year-old midfielder.
His infectious determination and his formidable desire for self-improvement, Ten Hag tells United’s official website, is a big reason why Collyer has emerged as a genuine first-team option since the start of the summer and maybe the next Carrington kid to get his big break.
Toby Collyer a rising star at Manchester United
“He has had a very good pre-season,” Ten Hag explains. “But before this, he earned being in the pre-season squad and he earned the minutes he got. He impressed.
“Therefore, he earns the right to play.
“It doesn’t matter if you are young or if you are old, if you won everything, if you learned nothing. You have to earn the right to play.”
The similarities did not go unnoticed by eagle-eyed Man United supporters.
Ten Hag – after making the effort to take Mainoo aside in the aftermath of 2023’s EFL Cup final in an attempt to motivate the teenager to further hone his talents and force his way into the senior set-up – was spotted doing something similar with Collyer after United defeated Manchester City at Wembley last May.
The former Brighton youngster has since made his senior United debut in the Community Shield.
And a few weeks later – replacing the catastrophic Casemiro at half-time – his Premier League bow came against Liverpool, no less.
Erik ten Hag preparing for Southampton clash
With Ten Hag maybe wary of throwing £42 million signing Manuel Ugarte in at the deep end and Casemiro’s Liverpool disasterclass still fresh in the memory, a maiden Man United start at St Mary’s is hardly off the table.
Collyer might lack the raw, God-given talents of Mainoo. But Old Trafford has been home to countless footballers who have made a remarkable success of their careers out of pure determination and desire.
Former Brighton youth coach Mark Beard, speaking to the Manchester Evening News, believes Collyer could follow in the footsteps of such luminaries.
“He could do two jobs in one, and his ball retention was different class. You don’t get midfielders like him anymore,” Beard says, likening Collyer to one of the finest players in modern Premier League history.
“He was sort of like (N’Golo) Kante for Leicester.
“You need balance in a team. If you had three Kobbie Mainoos, you can’t play them all. You need a combination, and Toby will do stuff Mainoo won’t. He will break the play up and get the ball to Mainoo.”
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