Manchester United are currently in the second leg of their pre-season with a tour in the USA having three matches, one of which they lost recently.
Fixtures against Real Betis and Liverpool are up next before United get their campaign underway in the Manchester City for the Community Shield.
Like every pre-season, this one has been for the youngsters to make a name for themselves and target a first-team place, something which the likes of Harry Amass and Toby Collyer are on their way to doing.
However, youth development is never linear, and impressing in the pre-season doesn’t always lead to first-team success, just ask the hero of last year’s pre-season, Dan Gore.
The curious case of Dan Gore
This time last season, Dan Gore had the world at his feet. His combative style in midfield, where he played wearing his heart on his sleeve, was winning over fans left, right, and center.
It feels ridiculous to say it now, but after Kobbie Mainoo suffered an injury, many were predicting last season to be Gore’s season.
United had gaps in midfield, one which Mainoo would go on to fill, but Gore seemed primed to make his mark on the team.
It was coming to fruition too, as Gore leveraged his brilliant pre-season performances for a place in the Premier League squad to face Nottingham Forest on August 26, near the beginning of last season.
He would soon have his first-team debut in the Carabao Cup, coming off the bench against Crystal Palace just a month later. Then, he would disappear from the first-team picture for three months, playing in the UEFA Youth League and PL2 but never separating himself from the pack at that level.
He came off the bench on December 26 against Aston Villa to get his first Premier League minutes but just five days later, the winter transfer window began and on January 23, he joined Port Vale on loan, a spell which would be the most puzzling time of his career.
Port Vale loan, and the question- “Why is Dan Gore not playing?”
Gore to Port Vale seemed like a really well-thought-out move at first. The League One strugglers had a reputation for getting players on loan and unlocking another level to their game.
Ollie Arblaster, for instance, would go on to captain Sheffield United in the Premier League last season after spending the first half on loan at Vale Park.
It started out well too, as Gore made his debut in the first game he was available for, when he played 54 minutes from the start against Portsmouth just three days after joining.
That is where, unfortunately, his loan spell peaked. He injured his quads in that game vs Portsmouth and since then, the updates on him were extremely infrequent.
Port Vale had a change of managers, with Andy Crosby, the man trusted with developing Gore, replaced by Darren Moore, as the Valiants scrambled to keep their League One status.
They would ultimately fail to do so and Moore would confirm in April itself that Gore will return to United. Such a club in upheaval was no place for a developing youngster, let alone one recovering from injury.
Latest on Dan Gore
Any news on Dan Gore became scarce as the youngster who thrilled the fans with his passion and energy went completely off the grid. Until one Instagram update.
In June of this year, Gore posted on Instagram that he had now undergone surgery for a dislocated shoulder. It is a serious surgery so he was never going to be a contender to make United’s squad for the pre-season.
At least the surgery was successful as per his update with no further complications or setbacks so he should be on the mend right now.
In the meantime, the United midfield looks much different from the one Gore was close to breaking into last season. Mainoo is the undisputed starter, Scott McTominay has renewed importance after his goalscoring exploits, even though he is attracting interest, and Casemiro-Eriksen pivot is a thing of the past. Add to that Toby Collyer’s emergence and the world has moved quickly.
For Gore, the immediate aim will be to get fit and start working himself back to match fitness, presumably with the U21s.
Training with the first team should be the natural next step but since the senior setup looks beyond him right now, another loan should be on the agenda.
He will just hope there are less upheaval and injury worries because the fans have seen the talent he possesses. It’s now time for the path to redemption.
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