That sounds far too much like a conspiracy theory tbh. Gomes has been talked about in absolutely glowing terms going back a long long time so it's not a big surprise that he's been anointed as "the chosen one" with the exposure and first team involvement you'd expect as a result. Chong's injury was obviously stopped him from competing with Gomes for that crown but he seems to be coming up the rails nicely in the last few months.
You can't ignore the significance of that injury, though. He's even being kept out of certain games because the coaches are worried about him playing on a particular surface. Stands to reason that they're in no great rush to stick on a pitch with a bunch of fully grown men. I don't think he's being held back because of any political agenda. He's obviously just deemed not quite ready yet. I'm sure that can change between now and the end of the season though.
Hmm. I don’t doubt that Gomes is a great prospect or anything. And yes, he’s been raved about for years, as has Chong, but on the continent as he wasn’t at United.
I don’t think that it’s unusual that Gomes makes it in the first team. I do think it is unusual for Mourinho especially to be playing him at 16 or 17 though - that is not down to natural progression because he’s really good. We don’t exactly need him in the first team now either. With someone like Rashford, there was at least a need in the team at the time. If he were 19 or so, after outgrowing the reserves, I’d think it more natural, but as it is, he has been fairly average since stepping up to the 23s, unlike Chong who has been our best player in every game he’s played.
I think Gomes has been picked as he ‘embodies what United are about’ and all that stuff, to showcase our academy. What you have said about Chong’s recovery is fair. He has been even better since coming back, but nothing wrong with pacing it. I just don’t think Gomes would be making first team appearances at 17, under Jose no less, if he were foreign and signed from abroad, unless we had cornered ourselves into a Pogba-like contract situation, which may have even been a recent factor with Gomes anyway. It’s unusually early, and not even down to an injury crisis. And he hasn’t been great for the 23s yet. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all of our rivals are also integrating English 17 year olds at the same time either. It’s not like that’s the norm, or they haven’t had talented Englishmen in recent years who have gotten different treatment.