With Harry Amass assisting, Ethan Wheatley scoring and Sekou Kone showing a few flashes, Manchester United’s U18s put on a show once again against FK Zalgiris in the UEFA Youth League.
Adam Lawrence’s remarkable crop of Carrington kids completed a clean sweep of domestic silverware last term; the Premier League Under 18 title the headline trophy amid another Manchester United treble.
And, having swept aside all before them back home, Wheatley, Amass and co are now seizing the chance to show the continent what they can do.
After the prolific Gabriel Biancheri inspired Man United’s 5-2 first leg win over Zalgiris at the end of October, the Lithuanian outfit may have hoped that the young Devils would be content with taking their foot off the gas a little at Leigh Sports Village.
There was no chance of that, however.
Two goals up inside 17 minutes thanks to an Ethan Williams finish and a header from captain Tyler Fredricson – and three to the good once Harry Amass crossed for Ethan Wheatley to finish in typically impudent fashion – Man United then had the luxury of watching Sekou Kone strut his stuff off the bench for an eye-catching UEFA Youth League debut.
Manchester United coach impressed by Sekou Kone adaptation
Replacing Jayce Fitzgerald – the Man United teenager in contention to play against PAOK in Thursday’s Europa League clash – Kone went about his business with the kind of unflappable swagger that made him arguably the most exciting young midfield talent in African football before he moved to Man United over the summer.
Amid all the excitement surrounding his arrival, however, Kone has had to be patient during his first few months in England.
But as the 18-year-old Malian gets up to speed with life in a new country and a new culture, Kone should become one of the first names on Lawrence’s team sheet sooner rather than later.
“When you arrive at this club, you just want to be playing football. Obviously, [you want to] get on the pitch and put on the Man United shirt and show people what you can do,” Lawrence tells the club’s official website, having handed Kone his belated first appearance against Sunderland on Saturday.
“He’s had to be patient. It’s right that we’ve built him up slowly but he’s starting to get a few games under his belt now.
“He’s picking up a bit of English, we’re picking up a bit of French. So we’re trying to work it both ways!
“And obviously Harry and Ethan Wheatley playing tonight was nice. They didn’t get the opportunity to play in the first leg. Good for them in terms of going into the next stage, rather than them maybe going in fresh and playing their first games in the next round.
“It’s nice that they both played in the game today. So a nice mix of the squad as well.”
Harry Amass and Ethan Wheatley continue their progress
Amass and Wheatley are perhaps the two players in the current Under 18 crop closest to making a genuine first-team breakthrough.
Amass impressed Erik ten Hag in pre-season amid those Luke Shaw comparisons. His speed, running power and pinpoint delivery – as displayed when setting up Wheatley against Zalgiris – makes Amass theoretically very well suited to life in Ruben Amorim’s wing-back system.
Wheatley, meanwhile, was handed five minutes off the bench by Ruud van Nistelrooy in last week’s 5-2 EFL Cup hammering of Leicester City.
As for Lawrence, his focus now is on preparing for a meeting with AZ Alkmaar in the third round of the UEFA Youth League. Though, after putting 11 goals past Zalgiris, United may take some stopping as their next generation aim to add another age-specific trophy to an impressive collection.
“[The performance versus Zalgiris was] really pleasing overall,” Lawrence adds. “We thought we would dominate the ball but it’s how you use that, how you break down the opposition to create chances.
“In the away leg, we conceded two goals late on, which was disappointing. So it’s good that the boys had managed it right and not give the opposition any sort of opportunities.
“We’ve scored a lot of goals, we’ve had opportunities to practise certain things. The boys have done well over the two games and deserve the opportunity in the next round, so we look forward to it.”
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