Manchester United’s under-18 team’s performance may feel like small gry in the grand scheme of Super League plans, and the weekend yielded a disappointing result.
Despite a 3-2 loss to Newcastle, the return of Zidane Iqbal to the team was a bright spot.
Iqbal, 17, came off the bench with United 2-0 down, and inspired a fightback.
The young midfielder was the first on the scoresheet, before Dillon Hoogewerf headed in a second.
Iqbal came close to scoring a second goal and United winner, with his intricate footwork inside the penalty area creating openings.
Newcastle ended up hitting United with a sucker punch, a blow which leaves City in a position to overtake us at the top.
But when looking for positives on a disappointing day, Iqbal was one of them.
Comeback from injury
This was the first game Iqbal had played in 2021 after a spell on the sidelines with injury.
Despite his time out, Iqbal has had a positive past month, recently signing his first professional contract at United.
The MEN reported after this that United plan to promote Iqbal from the under-18s to the under-23s before the end of the season.
The talented midfielder turns 18 at the end of this month, and with Charlie Savage and Marc Jurado recently making their under-23s debuts, it won’t be long before Iqbal does the same.
Getting back on the pitch was the first step, and it was good to see him return to make an impact.
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