Things might not be going so well at Manchester United but for a certain club loanee, his first taste of senior football couldn’t be going any better.
Elyh Harrison, the teenage goalkeeper who is spending this season on loan at Chester FC, has started off in brilliant fashion.
After a clean sheet on his debut had his manager raving about him, he has gone on to achieve even better things which Manchester United will certainly be keeping an eye on.
The latest of his accomplishments is maintaining his clean sheet record at home at 100% after five games, a remarkable achievement considering Chester are far from runaway favourites for the league title.
Elyh Harrison sparkling at Chester
Elyh Harrison has long been tipped as one of the best goalkeepers to come through the United system.
That is tall praise indeed, considering current and former England internationals like Dean Henderson and Tom Heaton have come through the ranks and made a name for themselves.
Harrison was a crucial player for the U18s’ march to glory last season, where they finished with three trophies in an all-conquering campaign.
Backed to play at a higher level now, he moved to Chester for the first loan spell of his career. He went to Chester as United’s U18 Player of the Year so expectations were high.
After just a few games, he has become a bonafide fan favourite, buoyed by the home support to put his best foot forward at Deva Stadium.
He has made five appearances at home for Chester and managed a clean sheet in all five, taking to senior football like duck to water.
In doing so, he has led his team to third position in the league and a genuine shot at getting promoted come the end of the season.
A difficult position
Harrison has started well at Chester and the expectation is that if he keeps this up, a loan to a higher-division club will be in the offing next season.
That is the path Dean Henderson walked, working his way up the divisions with loan spells before becoming an established Premier League player.
It didn’t happen at Old Trafford but his quality was never in doubt and he’s now coming into his own at Crystal Palace.
Unfortunately, the goalkeeper is the most difficult position to break through in for the obvious reason of there being only one opening.
In Harrison and Radek Vitek, who is also on loan, United have two genuine first-team prospects for the No 1 role.
Furthermore, they already upgraded and made the position younger when they signed Andre Onana to replace David de Gea.
At 28, Onana is not relinquishing the first-choice place for at least another half a decade, barring a spectacular collapse in fortunes.
That means both Harrison and Vitek will be in their early-to-mid twenties by then and the need of the hour will be consistent first-team football with clarity over their future.
In any case, whether they break through or not, United have a good headache developing at a position that clubs want fixed as a priority.
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