Tuanzebe loan watch | Aston Villa 2018-19

[Chairman Steve]

I remember Jose hyping him up big time when it was Jose’s first Utd pre season match against Wigan if I recall correctly.

Yet here he is, completely out of his plans but arguably for the better of his development.

 

[Maccataq]

I'd like the recall the lad in Jan as he could probably walk into our matchday squad given the high frequency of injuries and poor performances.

Sell Jones and Rojo, then try and make a back two out of Smalling, Tunzebe, Lindelof and Bailley

Better to let him continue doing well at Villa and get a full season under his belt then have a clear out in the summer to make space for him in my opinion. I feel bringing him into this mess won't help him right now and I just don't think we'll clear anyone out in January so he won't get the minutes he needs.

 

[Bola]

Better to let him continue doing well at Villa and get a full season under his belt then have a clear out in the summer to make space for him in my opinion. I feel bringing him into this mess won't help him right now and I just don't think we'll clear anyone out in January so he won't get the minutes he needs.

Fair points. Ringing him back in Janis based on an assumption that we offload, I don't have much faith in the board doing that, while I'm not sure how much Jose wants to keep hold of deadwood

 

[Adnan]

this is not only Mourinho's opinion as I have laid out multiple arguments (no senior NT cap, only 1 cap for U21, no PL loan only championship) but you have not provided a single evidence of why a player on loan at a championship club is currently better than all our CBs (all with multiple senior caps and some were at WC).

The question is not about his talent (even Mourinho recognized it) but of what he is capable of at the moment. If you have nothing to show in support of your argument, than repeating your flawed opinion, then there is nothing to discuss. You should be able to provide a single objective measure that supports your claim.

I judge a player by watching him play on a football pitch. And when Tuanzebe made his debut for us away to Arsenal at the Emirates he showed his huge potential against one of the best players in the league in Alexis Sanchez. That was more than enough evidence that he deserved a chance in the first team squad. I've told you why he deserves a chance over Lindelof, Rojo and Jones who imo are not as good as Tuanzebe but it doesn't seem to be registering with you.

Mourinho has never been great with bringing youth team players through to first team level. His record is actually pretty shit. Scott McTominay who I've watched for quite sometime in our youth teams was never good enough and that sentiment was shared by most regular youth team observers. The only plausible explanation I've heard to why Mourinho has promoted such a limited player is due to his height.

Mourinho has made countless feck ups with young players over the years. Two glaring ones in his time at Chelsea with Salah and KDB. But carry on blindly defending a man who is doing a terrible job.

 

[Mcking]

Does he play on the left or right side for Villa?

 

[FootyGirl88]

Does he play on the left or right side for Villa?

Right..

 

[Mcking]

Right..

Ah. Thanks

 

[cheeky_backheel]

I judge a player by watching him play on a football pitch. And when Tuanzebe made his debut for us away to Arsenal at the Emirates he showed his huge potential against one of the best players in the league in Alexis Sanchez. That was more than enough evidence that he deserved a chance in the first team squad. I've told you why he deserves a chance over Lindelof, Rojo and Jones who imo are not as good as Tuanzebe but it doesn't seem to be registering with you.

Mourinho has never been great with bringing youth team players through to first team level. His record is actually pretty shit. Scott McTominay who I've watched for quite sometime in our youth teams was never good enough and that sentiment was shared by most regular youth team observers. The only plausible explanation I've heard to why Mourinho has promoted such a limited player is due to his height.

Mourinho has made countless feck ups with young players over the years. Two glaring ones in his time at Chelsea with Salah and KDB. But carry on blindly defending a man who is doing a terrible job.

You still havent provided anything in support of your view and keep on blaming Mourinho (who actually has a good record with developing young CBs as i pointed to Varane at Madrid, Santon at Inter and Zouma at Chelsea).

Mourinho also appreciated his talent saying “With Axel, 10 minutes is enough. I only needed 10 minutes to know his potential, you can see it immediately.” So the question is not about his talent.

If he is already good enough to play for us then answer these questions

1. Why couldn't he get a loan to a premier league club like Zouma and Chambers and had to go back to the championship? Is Mourinho responsible for this as well or other PL manages are blind?

2. Why has he not had a senior NT cap yet? or is Mourinho managing the English NT selection?

3. why has he had only one U21 cap when players like fikayo, konza, simpson etc have had multiple? again is this Mourinho's fault too?

If he is as good as you claim, he should be a fixed starter for the U21 (cos the likes of Konza are not good enough to play in the PL talk less of playing for us) and he should have had at least one senior cap (cos even Jones made the England world cup squad).

The obsession with seeing Mourinho as the source of all evil seems to cloud the judgement of many on here. No other manager has deemed him developed enough to be a regular for NT, U21 or another PL club, but yet you claim he is good enough for us. That is just a joke.

 

[Adnan]

You still havent provided anything in support of your view and keep on blaming Mourinho (who actually has a good record with developing young CBs as i pointed to Varane at Madrid, Santon at Inter and Zouma at Chelsea).

Mourinho also appreciated his talent saying “With Axel, 10 minutes is enough. I only needed 10 minutes to know his potential, you can see it immediately.” So the question is not about his talent.

If he is already good enough to play for us then answer these questions

1. Why couldn't he get a loan to a premier league club like Zouma and Chambers and had to go back to the championship? Is Mourinho responsible for this as well or other PL manages are blind?

2. Why has he not had a senior NT cap yet? or is Mourinho managing the English NT selection?

3. why has he had only one U21 cap when players like fikayo, konza, simpson etc have had multiple? again is this Mourinho's fault too?

If he is as good as you claim, he should be a fixed starter for the U21 (cos the likes of Konza are not good enough to play in the PL talk less of playing for us) and he should have had at least one senior cap (cos even Jones made the England world cup squad).

The obsession with seeing Mourinho as the source of all evil seems to cloud the judgement of many on here. No other manager has deemed him developed enough to be a regular for NT, U21 or another PL club, but yet you claim he is good enough for us. That is just a joke.

Mourinho's record with bringing youth through from the clubs youth team is poor. The evidence you provided was Santon only and the others were bought like Varane and Zouma from French clubs. His use of players from youth teams at the clubs he's been at has been quite frankly rubbish.

One of the reasons he went to Villa was due to their manager being Steve Bruce who was a ex championship winning player and captain at United. Bruce has a good relationship with United and played at CB for us in our glory days. Tuanzebe would've learned a great deal from him and possibly chose Villa due to him being manager at the time.

It's hard for him to get a senior England cap when the narcissist at our club prefers Calamity Jones, reckless Rojo and lame Lindelof over him. I'm confident Tuanzebe would be ahead of them if given a chance. Hopefully that day isn't far when we have a attack minded coach. I've told you why I think he would contribute more than the 3 players mentioned too.

You keep repeating yourself with the same arguments like how certain people bang on about stats. Try watching the player sometimes to form a opinion rather than bang about things you have very Little knowledge about. You defend Mourinho blindly even though he has us playing dreadful football and the worst we've been in decades. The quicker he fecks off, the better.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

Mourinho's record with bringing youth through from the clubs youth team is poor. The evidence you provided was Santon only and the others were bought like Varane and Zouma from French clubs. His use of players from youth teams at the clubs he's been at has been quite frankly rubbish.

One of the reasons he went to Villa was due to their manager being Steve Bruce who was a ex championship winning player and captain at United. Bruce has a good relationship with United and played at CB for us in our glory days. Tuanzebe would've learned a great deal from him and possibly chose Villa due to him being manager at the time.

It's hard for him to get a senior England cap when the narcissist at our club prefers Calamity Jones, reckless Rojo and lame Lindelof over him. I'm confident Tuanzebe would be ahead of them if given a chance. Hopefully that day isn't far when we have a attack minded coach. I've told you why I think he would contribute more than the 3 players mentioned too.

You keep repeating yourself with the same arguments like how certain people bang on about stats. Try watching the player sometimes to form a opinion rather than bang about things you have very Little knowledge about. You defend Mourinho blindly even though he has us playing dreadful football and the worst we've been in decades. The quicker he fecks off, the better.

You are not the only one watching games. Many people do and some even do it for a living.

Yet none of these managers share your opinion and deem it worthwhile to take Tuanzebe on loan at their PL clubs nor make him a regular starter for the U21 talk less of a senior cap.

What is your excuse for him not being a regular U21 when other players in the championship have managed to do so or are all those kids also better than our CBs?

Instead it must be Mourinho's fault, even when there is no evidence that supports your claim or which youth defensive talent did he ruin?

(FYI Nacho was an academy/castilla defender that was promoted to real madrid first team by Mourinho, so the idea that they had to be bought is nonsense).

Tuanzebe is not good enough yet and thinking he is, is just wishful thinking with no basis in reality. Our CBs are bad but not that bad.

 

[Adnan]

You are not the only one watching games. Many people do and some even do it for a living.

Yet none of these managers share your opinion and deem it worthwhile to take Tuanzebe on loan at their PL clubs nor make him a regular starter for the U21 talk less of a senior cap.

What is your excuse for him not being a regular U21 when other players in the championship have managed to do so or are all those kids also better than our CBs?

Instead it must be Mourinho's fault, even when there is no evidence that supports your claim or which youth defensive talent did he ruin?

(FYI Nacho was an academy/castilla defender that was promoted to real madrid first team by Mourinho, so the idea that they had to be bought is nonsense).

Tuanzebe is not good enough yet and thinking he is, is just wishful thinking with no basis in reality. Our CBs are bad but not that bad.

You're like a broken a record..

I've told you why I think he's better than three of our current CB's. I hope you acknowledge I was correct when he proves himself next season under a different manager at United.

 

[Adnan]

Mourinho brought through Nacho and Santon in nearly two decades? Compare that with SAF and Van Gaal and it is a pathetic record. Seems like you're clutching at straws @cheeky_backheel

 

[cheeky_backheel]

You're like a broken a record..

I've told you why I think he's better than three of our current CB's. I hope you acknowledge I was correct when he proves himself next season under a different manager at United.

The problem is no manager in the game seems to share your inflated opinion, and I value their opinion over yours.

There is simply no way that a 21yr old player that is not a regular for the U21, where players like simpson, fikayo etc are regulars, is better than what we currently have.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

Mourinho brought through Nacho and Santon in nearly two decades? Compare that with SAF and Van Gaal and it is a pathetic record. Seems like you're clutching at straws @cheeky_backheel

should Mourinho have dropped better players simply to promote from the academy?

where are the great CBs that SAF and LvG developed from the academy? werent the current crop of our bad CBs accumulated by these same managers?

But then this is not about Mourinho cos other managers also dont think Tuanzebe is good enough, at least not as good as Simpson et al who are ahead of him in the U21.

 

[Adnan]

The problem is no manager in the game seems to share your inflated opinion, and I value their opinion over yours.

There is simply no way that a 21yr old player that is not a regular for the U21, where players like simpson, fikayo etc are regulars, is better than what we currently have.

I hope you acknowledge when he proves me right.

 

[In Rainbows]

where are the great CBs that SAF and LvG developed from the academy? werent the current crop of our bad CBs accumulated by these same managers?

None of those young CB prospects were as good as Tuanzebe.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

I hope you acknowledge when he proves me right.

He cant prove you right in the future cos the argument is about the present. You cannot claim that cos Tuanzebe develops to be better in the future means he was better in the past.

If he is better now, he would be a regular in the U21 and would have gotten at least one senior NT cap and/or have been on loan in PL not championship. That none of that has happened, shows that he is not good enough at the moment. Future performances doesnt change this fact.

Yes he has potential, and with playing time he should develop to the level of being a regular for us, but that is in the future. That happening is expected and was never in debate.

 

[Adnan]

should Mourinho have dropped better players simply to promote from the academy?

where are the great CBs that SAF and LvG developed from the academy? werent the current crop of our bad CBs accumulated by these same managers?

But then this is not about Mourinho cos other managers also dont think Tuanzebe is good enough, at least not as good as Simpson et al who are ahead of him in the U21.

SAF and LVG gave chances to young players from the youth team. LVG won a UCL with a squad full of youngsters that came from the youth team. it's irrelevant what positions they played in.


SAF got rid of established stars like Hughes, Ince and Kanchelkis to make room for kids that came through the youth team to take their places. It takes cojones and great judgement to do that. Something Mourinho has never come close to even attempting. Wes Brown was a CB that SAF gave a chance to that came through the youth ranks. He was the player that assisted CR7 in 2008 UCL final. Mourinho is out of his depth in comparison.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

None of those young CB prospects were as good as Tuanzebe.

That is typical - you criticize mourinho for developing only 2 players while those you deemed superior couldnt produce one product between them despite having about 4x longer coaching career combined.

More interesting was that LvG had chances to give Tuanzebe minutes but the most he did was put him on the bench, while Mourinho gave him 4 league appearances, including his first start, all in his first season in charge. But to you LvG is better at developing academy talents.

 

[In Rainbows]

He cant prove you right in the future cos the argument is about the present. You cannot claim that cos Tuanzebe develops to be better in the future means he was better in the past.

If he is better now, he would be a regular in the U21 and would have gotten at least one senior NT cap and/or have been on loan in PL not championship. That none of that has happened, shows that he is not good enough at the moment. Future performances doesnt change this fact.

Yes he has potential, and with playing time he should develop to the level of being a regular for us, but that is in the future. That happening is expected and was never in debate.

You can't judge a player off of international caps. I mean just look at Tuanzebe's club situation. He was being played as a fullback because managers are too scared to play young players at CB. By that logic, he wasn't good enough in comparison to the CBs at the club. They finally play him at CB and he instantly shows how good he is. People in charge don't automatically make the best calls.

That is typical - you criticize mourinho for developing only 2 players while those you deemed superior couldnt produce one product between them despite having about 4x longer coaching career combined.

More interesting was that LvG had chances to give Tuanzebe minutes but the most he did was put him on the bench, while Mourinho gave him 4 league appearances, including his first start, all in his first season in charge. But to you LvG is better at developing academy talents.

Not sure why you're bringing up Tuanzebe in regards to LVG. He was 17 or 18 in LVG's last season?

I can't really comment on Fergie's entire time at United. I didn't watch the youth teams for that entire time. I just started watching from that Pogba era which was 7-8 years ago. Fergie had Thorpe and Keane. I didn't really rate Keane as I felt he had too many mistakes in him and turns out he became a legit PL player. They weren't as good as Tuanzebe.

LVG had no worthwhile CBs ready to play like Tuanzebe currently is. He still tried McNair. He tried Blackett (which I disagreed with). One thing I can't fault LVG is that he tried young players constantly.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

SAF and LVG gave chances to young players from the youth team. LVG won a UCL with a squad full of youngsters that came from the youth team. it's irrelevant what positions they played in.


SAF got rid of established stars like Hughes, Ince and Kanchelkis to make room for kids that came through the youth team to take their places. It takes cojones and great judgement to do that. Something Mourinho has never come close to even attempting. Wes Brown was a CB that SAF gave a chance to that came through the youth ranks. He was the player that assisted CR7 in 2008 UCL final. Mourinho is out of his depth in comparison.

Ajax has always had a strong academy program which is independent of the manager in charge and more to do with the club philosophy. Even without LvG they have steadily promoted players as recently as de ligt to first team from academy.

Any decent manager would do same. almost every big club produce a golden generation at some point in the past e.g. madrid's la quinta de buitre. The uniqueness of it is shown by that SAF never repeated it or did he lose his cajones too?. The game has changed and success at the top can no longer be achieved with such a template.

Ferguson was at united for 26yrs and you can only point to Wes Brown while Mourinho was had Santon in 2yrs at Inter and Nacho in 3 yrs at Madrid.

 

[edcunited1878]

SAF and LVG gave chances to young players from the youth team. LVG won a UCL with a squad full of youngsters that came from the youth team. it's irrelevant what positions they played in.


SAF got rid of established stars like Hughes, Ince and Kanchelkis to make room for kids that came through the youth team to take their places. It takes cojones and great judgement to do that. Something Mourinho has never come close to even attempting. Wes Brown was a CB that SAF gave a chance to that came through the youth ranks. He was the player that assisted CR7 in 2008 UCL final. Mourinho is out of his depth in comparison.

SAF could afford to get rid of established stars because there were enough players around them who weren't going anywhere who were more than good enough to perform for the entire year at a championship winning level for then the younger players to develop along side them and contribute most weeks without feeling the pressure of having to be as consistent compared to the established first team players.

For Hughes, United had Scholes, Cantona, Cole and Giggs all chipping in over 10 goals in the league. Ince was replaced by Butt, however he was flanked by Keane, sometimes Choccy with Bruce and Pally behind him.

You look across the top teams currently, there aren't many young players playing a pivotal role week in week out in key areas, so as long as they are flanked by established first XI players who have that high consistent standard.

 

[In Rainbows]

he uniqueness of it is shown by that SAF never repeated it or did he lose his cajones too?.

SAF actually did become more conservative in his latter years. That's something MR.MUJAC says as well. It's a deserved criticism which I give in regards to Pogba at the very least.

 

[Adnan]

Ajax has always had a strong academy program which is independent of the manager in charge and more to do with the club philosophy. Even without LvG they have steadily promoted players as recently as de ligt to first team from academy.

Any decent manager would do same. almost every big club produce a golden generation at some point in the past e.g. madrid's la quinta de buitre. The uniqueness of it is shown by that SAF never repeated it or did he lose his cajones too?. The game has changed and success at the top can no longer be achieved with such a template.

Ferguson was at united for 26yrs and you can only point to Wes Brown while Mourinho was had Santon in 2yrs at Inter and Nacho in 3 yrs at Madrid.

The point is SAF and LVG had a much better record than Mourinho at promoting youth, surely you can't disagree with that ?

Johnny Evans and Gerard Pique also developed under SAF.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

You can't judge a player off of international caps. I mean just look at Tuanzebe's club situation. He was being played as a fullback because managers are too scared to play young players at CB. By that logic, he wasn't good enough in comparison to the CBs at the club. They finally play him at CB and he instantly shows how good he is. People in charge don't automatically make the best calls.


Not sure why you're bringing up Tuanzebe in regards to LVG. He was 17 or 18 in LVG's last season?

I can't really comment on Fergie's entire time at United. I didn't watch the youth teams for that entire time. I just started watching from that Pogba era which was 7-8 years ago. Fergie had Thorpe and Keane. I didn't really rate Keane as I felt he had too many mistakes in him and turns out he became a legit PL player. They weren't as good as Tuanzebe.

LVG had no worthwhile CBs ready to play like Tuanzebe currently is. He still tried McNair. He tried Blackett (which I disagreed with). One thing I can't fault LVG is that he tried young players constantly.

Mourinho took over from LvG and a player that couldnt get a minute with LvG had 4 appearances under mourinho but you dont see the relevance? Is it cos it doesnt suit your narrative of mourinho being the youth killer?

The facts are clear that Mourinho does give opportunities to more younger players than other managers at top clubs. Yes he might not be able to develop the offensive ones ( as he is generally limited in this regard) but he has a pretty good record with defensive ones.

Mourinho has his faults but he also has his strong suits as well. the reluctance to accept this seems to plague you and many other united fans

 

[In Rainbows]

Mourinho took over from LvG and a player that couldnt get a minute with LvG had 4 appearances under mourinho but you dont see the relevance? Is it cos it doesnt suit your narrative of mourinho being the youth killer?

Man, how dishonest are you being? You really can't see the difference in having a 17 year old Tuanzebe and a 19-20 year old Tuanzebe?

 

[Adnan]

Man, how dishonest are you being? You really can't see the difference in having a 17 year old Tuanzebe and a 19-20 year old Tuanzebe?

Mourinho apologists for you..

 

[cheeky_backheel]

The point is SAF and LVG had a much better record than Mourinho at promoting youth, surely you can't disagree with that ?

Johnny Evans and Gerard Pique also developed under SAF.

I do disagree with it, particularly with regards to LvG, whose attraction to youth is less for the youth's development but more for the opportunity to mold the player into what he desires.

LvG football philosophy is harder to teach to more developed players and thus he leans towards more malleable youths. I dont see this as youth development but as exploitation, as often times the uniqueness that gave the youth an edge is grounded away in favor of a more rounded development that leaves the player being mediocre outside of LvG system.

 

[Adnan]

I do disagree with it, particularly with regards to LvG, whose attraction to youth is less for the youth's development but more for the opportunity to mold the player into what he desires.

LvG football philosophy is harder to teach to more developed players and thus he leans towards more malleable youths. I dont see this as youth development but as exploitation, as often times the uniqueness that gave the youth an edge is grounded away in favor of a more rounded development that leaves the player being mediocre outside of LvG system.

Exploitation..

 

[cheeky_backheel]

Man, how dishonest are you being? You really can't see the difference in having a 17 year old Tuanzebe and a 19-20 year old Tuanzebe?

Tuanzebe was 19 when LvG left and he was still 19 when mourinho gave him minutes. LvG had his opportunity.

 

[edcunited1878]

The point is SAF and LVG had a much better record than Mourinho at promoting youth, surely you can't disagree with that ?

Johnny Evans and Gerard Pique also developed under SAF.

VDS. Evra. Ferdinand. Vidic. Neville/Brown. Carrick/Scholes/Fletcher. Those are the players that typically flanked said Evans or Pique. Evans peaked under SAF and went to shite under Moyes, with LVG selling him.

I am excited about Tuanzebe like the next person, but I am glad he isn't in the first team this year. He's playing week in week out now, which I do not believe was the case at the beginning of the season but I think he was coming of an injury.

Tuanzebe should step up to the first team squad next year.

 

[In Rainbows]

Tuanzebe was 19 when LvG left and he was still 19 when mourinho gave him minutes. LvG had his opportunity.

Tuanzebe is currently 21. He just turned 21 in November. Last season at this time he had just turned 20. The season prior he had just turned 19. Meaning he had just turned 18 in LVG's last season.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

Exploitation..

It is imo cos the player's development is groomed towards a less popular system where being an all rounder is favored, while majority of managers prefer specialists. This is not in the best interest of the players and only serves to help LvG implement his narrow philosophy.

 

[Adnan]

VDS. Evra. Ferdinand. Vidic. Neville/Brown. Carrick/Scholes/Fletcher. Those are the players that typically flanked said Evans or Pique. Evans peaked under SAF and went to shite under Moyes, with LVG selling him.

I am excited about Tuanzebe like the next person, but I am glad he isn't in the first team this year. He's playing week in week out now, which I do not believe was the case at the beginning of the season but I think he was coming of an injury.

Tuanzebe should step up to the first team squad next year.

Young players under SAF were always flanked by established stars due to the great work of the man.

I'm also glad Tuanzebe isn't at the club presently due to our current manager to be honest . The quicker he goes the better.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

Tuanzebe is currently 21. He just turned 21 in November. Last season at this time he had just turned 20. The season prior he had just turned 19. Meaning he had just turned 18 in LVG's last season.

Still it was less than a year for Mourinho to give him minutes.

Also LvG gave minutes to rashford who is about the same age and at the same age, de ligt was playing for ajax first team. so age is really not an excuse

LvG had the opportunity and he didnt field Tuanzebe. Mournho did it in his first season. Mourinho deserves credit for it.

 

[jb8521]

Still it was less than a year for Mourinho to give him minutes.

Also LvG gave minutes to rashford who is about the same age and at the same age, de ligt was playing for ajax first team. so age is really not an excuse

LvG had the opportunity and he didnt field Tuanzebe. Mournho did it in his first season. Mourinho deserves credit for it.

The reason he didn't get games under LVG was that shortly after being on the bench for the first team he got injured & missed 5 months & only came back for the last few games of the season for the reserves.

 

[Cassidy]

Still it was less than a year for Mourinho to give him minutes.

Also LvG gave minutes to rashford who is about the same age and at the same age, de ligt was playing for ajax first team. so age is really not an excuse

LvG had the opportunity and he didnt field Tuanzebe. Mournho did it in his first season. Mourinho deserves credit for it.

He was injured.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

The reason he didn't get games under LVG was that shortly after being on the bench for the first team he got injured & missed 5 months & only came back for the last few games of the season for the reserves.

He was on the bench at the end of October but got injured in January. Also LvG had been in charge for a season already. There was enough opportunity for LvG, who is supposed to be great with young talent, to field him a least once.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

He was injured.

Was he injured for the entire season?

 

[jb8521]

He was on the bench at the end of October but got injured in January. Also LvG had been in charge for a season already. There was enough opportunity for LvG, who is supposed to be great with young talent, to field him a least once.

He was on the bench in October then had a couple of small injuries & missed some games in November then was on the bench again in December then got injured again & didn't play again until near the end of the season. Why should he have played him the season before when he was 16/17 & wasn't anywhere near ready physically? The plan at the time was for him to start training with the first team full time & get some games after Christmas but then he got injured so Fosu Mensah got the chance instead.