Ruben Amorim handed two academy debuts vs Aston Villa in the form of Shea Lacey and Jack Fletcher, but the true difference maker could have been a third who wasn’t even on the bench.
Man Utd fans‘ fears were allayed to some extent as Ruben Amorim finally looked to the academy vs Villa, even if it was partly forced by desperation.
Encouragingly, both Shea Lacey and Jack Fletcher did alright, especially Lacey, who had the mentality to test the keeper despite coming on late.
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Neither, however, came close to getting an equaliser, a task that was well-suited for a Man Utd wonderkid who is yet to debut, but is in the middle of a hot streak right now for the academy.
Man Utd should have used Gabriele Biancheri vs Aston Villa
Amorim, to his credit, did against Villa what he was panned for for not doing against Everton, which is to go gung-ho for the goal late on.
Jack Fletcher, Shea Lacey, Joshua Zirkzee, and even Lisandro Martinez in midfield are all attack-minded substitutions that utilised the full options on the bench.
The missed trick is by not including Gabriele Biancheri in the matchday squad, because he would have provided what no other player in the Man Utd squad does.
Biancheri is in the middle of a hot streak right now in academy football, recently netting a brace at Old Trafford against Dortmund’s academy.
Sum up Gabriele Biancheri’s goal scoring performance in one word…🏴
Overall, he’s scoring every 131 minutes across all competitions, and is partly the reason why Amorim’s comment about Chido Obi not taking the U21s by storm was true.
Biancheri is a striker unlike any other at the club, since he’s a quintessential penalty-box poacher with remarkable off-the-ball instincts and finishing ability.
He’s not the tallest, so the aerial threat would have been provided by Zirkzee, but considering United were creating chances against Villa, he would have backed himself to get on the end of one and convert it.
More importantly, he would have given the Villa defenders something else to think about, as he wouldn’t have engaged in physical duels like Benjamin Sesko, Zirkzee, or even Obi, had he played.
Martinez showed in midfield that brains are needed more than brawn at certain points, and Biancheri excels at that part of the game.
Youngsters will need to step up now
Fletcher and Lacey had encouraging cameos, and as shown above, an argument can be made for Biancheri to be used in the games ahead.
United’s list of missing players is getting uncomfortably long at the exact time that the fixture list is getting busy, which is a nightmare combination.
Amorim has already said that there will be no panic, short-term buys in January, which means the academy youngsters will need to step up.
The game against Villa showed that they can more than hold their own and not look out of place, and if United are to come out the other side still standing, this crisis should be seen as an opportunity.
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