Aidan Barlow

RedMachine03

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Manchester United Under-18s hot-shot Aidan Barlow has admitted he did not want last season to end as he is hard at work at the club's training camp in Austria.

Nobody scored more goals for Kieran McKenna’s side in 2016/17 than the local lad, who broke into the team in the latter part of the season and sparkled in the Merit Group phase, scoring a hat-trick against Newcastle United and two crackers in the draw with Liverpool.

Despite his goal record, the youngster feels he should not be considered a forward. “I’m more of a box-to-box midfielder,” he explained to ManUtd.com. “But I am quite attack minded and capable of scoring goals too.”

Currently enjoying the preparations in Obertraun, the 17-year-old is rightly eager to carry on from where he left off when the new campaign gets under way.

“No, I didn’t want it to end,” he said. “I finished the season strongly, becoming joint-top scorer with Angel [Gomes], and got a call-up to go to the Euros [Under-17 European Championship finals] with England.

“I scored a goal on my international debut [in a 4-0 win over Ukraine] and managed to convert a penalty in the shoot-out in the final. There was a bit of pressure going first but I thought we were unlucky to lose [to Spain]. I just thought I want to keep going, work hard this pre-season and make sure I come back as strongly as I can.

“I just want to push on. It’s my second year and I must become a leader in the team, pushing to break into the Under-23s team. I have been around it before and got a few minutes away to Chelsea last year, which was good experience. That’s why it’s good to have all the Under-18s and Under-23s in Austria so both squads can come together, build relationships and a team spirit.

“The new players have come in and all settled well, even from the first few sessions we have had. It feels like the group could be even stronger this year as we have a lot of options with all different types of players. We’ve all got to work together to get each other through pre-season so we can start the campaign strongly and go on from there.”
 

yumtum

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It says he only broke into the u-18 side towards the end of last season, is he really ready for u-23 football?
 

TwoSheds

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It says he only broke into the u-18 side towards the end of last season, is he really ready for u-23 football?
Probably not but I doubt he'd disgrace himself if played there, a tough lad with plenty of talent.
 

AP88

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Angel gets a lot of plaudits and hype, and rightly so....but I feel Barlow is the most exciting prospect in the academy; he's got 'something' about him that I really like.

Don't like making comparisons, but as a small, goal-scoring midfielder with a bit of swagger and abundant football intelligence, I can't help but see a bit of Scholes in him.
 

RedMachine03

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Aidan Barlow is ready for TIL and the club hopes this is the start of what could be a long-lasting and fruitful partnership with Manchester United
Contact between the two clubs has come after Isak Hansen-Aarøen became ready for Manchester United and he joins the club in August 2020.

Today, the next step in collaboration with the two clubs became clear when offensive midfielder Aidan Barlow was loaned to Tromsø IL for the rest of the season.

- We think this is very exciting because we cooperate with a big club and we have already developed a good cooperation and this has now materialized in that we borrow Barlow. It will be interesting to see his level up against our own boys at the same age, but we know we will get a very good player, says Sports Manager Svein-Morten Johansen.

- This could be the start of a long-term collaboration that can give us a lot, also on the competence side. We already have a very good dialogue. It means a lot to us and even though we now get a player, the most important thing is maybe we get close to them and gain new knowledge, he adds.

Barlow is looking forward to a new challenge in the Norwegian elite series.

- It's a great opportunity for me and I'm looking forward to getting started. It's something completely different to me and I'm sure I'm going to grow as a player and person, says the 19-year-old.

- I know that there is good level in Norwegian football because I have talked to several, including Mark Dempsey and so my boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær has recommended this. So it will be a great challenge for me and I am clear if the coach here wants me to play already this weekend, he adds.
 
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Shaw Mee Tah Mané

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I feel Noggie football is too weak for anything meaningful in sporting terms, unless its for the lesser lights to go out and play.
It’s crap compared to many other top divisions. But it’s better than L1 or Scotland if thats the alternative. Will be interesting to see how he handles it!
 

mattsville

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He is a brilliant player and defo has a future here, good he is out on loan, just hope he gets game time and settles and we can feed him back in to the setup.
 

NoPace

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It’s crap compared to many other top divisions. But it’s better than L1 or Scotland if thats the alternative. Will be interesting to see how he handles it!
I don't have a problem with a loan to Scotland. Easy adjustment culturally, no adjustment linguistically or with climate and you get a decent mix of playing 2 decent teams (Celtic, Rangers) a few times and a bunch of crap sides where your team probably has the ball a fair bit. Garner going there next year at 19 (young for a DM) wouldn't bother me for instance, or Chong this year.
 

Macern

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I believe the level of the Norwegian Eliteserien is around League 1 level. Tromsø is below average in the Eliteserien and will probably end up in a relegation battle. However the style of the team has been compared to City or Swansea which could be beneficial for Barlow as it won’t be all about defending and chasing the ball.
 

Vissy

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The Norwegian league is improving rapidly and it's pumping out talented players at an increasing rate. It's a decent move.
 

Macern

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Any details on what it was like? I only saw on flash scores. Very sparse coverage in English :D
From nordlys.no:

Manchester United loanee Barlow could get his first TIL goal after 17 minutes when played one on one with the keeper, but the first touch was far too poor. Still, he managed to recover and played through Berntsen who missed a shot far above the goal. Struggles to control Mikkel Desler, Haugesund's right back, as he comes up the side. Alert when he receives the rebound off Smith's shot, and plays it beautifully over Olsen in the Haugesund goal.
 

Lash

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From nordlys.no:

Manchester United loanee Barlow could get his first TIL goal after 17 minutes when played one on one with the keeper, but the first touch was far too poor. Still, he managed to recover and played through Berntsen who missed a shot far above the goal. Struggles to control Mikkel Desler, Haugesund's right back, as he comes up the side. Alert when he receives the rebound off Smith's shot, and plays it beautifully over Olsen in the Haugesund goal.
Thanks guys.