Which Youth Players Should Go on the Summer Tour?

[m1y2]

What makes you think Amos will leave?

Ben is an average goalkeeper who needs to develop somewhere else. he will never ever be given a proper chance in our first team, hes older than de Gea and Sam Johnstone is already better than him, we also signed that serbian goalkeeper for almost 2mil so he must be something and pereira shows potential as well.. Amos leaving is win win situation, lindegaard will leave as well IMO not sure if this season but he doesnt want to be a always backup goalkeeper and has quality to play for at least midtable premierleague team I rate him quite a lot he was just unlucky that David is here cost a lot of many and has got a higher potential obviously...
so in the future its 1)de Gea 2) Johnstone 3)one of the two Perreira/Vanja. Not sure about the next year tho, Johnstone can go out on loan to gain even more experience and Amos will be again third choice keeper... Sam will benefit more from playing of course

 

[Nytram Shakes]

im gonna guess alot of them will go becuase a lot of the first team won't be back from international duty

but i think van gaal needs to have a closer look at Zaha, henriquez, Keane and varela and see if they are ready to play a part in the first team this season. Becuase these are the players who might be useful to us this season if they are ready.

 

[LR7]

Actually a lot of the first team will be back with England, Japan, Portugal, Ecuador and Spain being knocked out. Only RvP, Hernandez, Evra, Januzaj and Fellaini remain.

I'd expect Wilson, Lingard, Lawrence, M. Keane, Powell, Zaha and Varela to go. Pearson, Rothwell, Thorpe, Pereira and James in with a shout.

 

[PS18]

What makes you think Amos will leave?

I don't see any point in him staying. I rate him but he's not going to displace DDG, the significantly younger Johnstone is arguably at the same level as him now and his career's become a constant cycle of pointless U21 football and loan spells. For his own good it's time to move on and kickstart his career, assuming a suitable club was interested.

 

[pocco]

Amos is one of the most pointless footballers I've ever known. Clearly not good enough for United and never will be, so why has he stuck around for so long? Does he just not fancy playing proper football with men his age?

 

[SolidState]

Erm you can bet LVG wont pad out the squad with youth just for the sake of it like Fergie did, he will take most of the first team including new comers to implement his philosophy and style. He will most likely take the full squad with all first teamers and a sprinkling of youngsters who have been cherry picked as potential first teamers.

LVG does not have the luxury of having training sessions before pre-season or a chance to have a chat with the players, he will have 2 days if Holland reach the final to pack his bags and get to USA for the first tour game.

All hands to the pump im afraid.

 

[PS18]

Erm you can bet LVG wont pad out the squad with youth just for the sake of it like Fergie did

When did Fergie do that?

 

[TwoSheds]

Well it's a bit strange, especially as I knew a guy who went to school with him and apparently he always said that he wanted to leave United at 21 unless he'd made the first team. Still, to call him one of the most pointless footballers ever is a bit daft as 24/25 is no age for a keeper really and you look at someone like Eagles who played almost that long here as an outfield player yet he's still gone on to a decent career.

 

[Raoul]

Wilson, Lawrence

From the loanees - Varela, Bebe, Powell, Lingard, Henriquez

 

[Sammyjunn]

Pereira, Wilson, Lawrence, Zaha, Powell, Lingard, Varela, Bebe

 

[LR7]

Wilson, Lawrence

From the loanees - Varela, Bebe, Powell, Lingard, Henriquez

Varela wasn't a loanee (unless I missed something).

I keep forgetting about Angelo Henriquez exists.

 

[SolidState]

When did Fergie do that?

What I mean is with ferries pretty season was a chance for youth to have a go, LVG will be still learning players names by the time we go out there.

 

[surf]

Depends who is missing from the first team squad. Anyway, I'd like to see Wilson and Janko play on tour.

 

[Jammydodger7]

Johnstone, Michael Keane, Thorpe, Reece James, Powell, Lingard, Lawrence, Wilson, Will Keane. I'd expect all of these to go. I hope Pearson goes but I think it might be a year to early for him maybe.

 

[limerickcitykid]

I really hope Pearson and Rothwell get a chance. No way is it a year too early imo, they are already 19 if we wait another year they'll be 20 with no experience. They held their own against Bentaleb and Dembele and if they aren't getting playing time here I think they should be out on loan. There is no point holding players like them back.

 

[khoazany]

A forgotten man but Petrucci already back at Carrington for pre-season and he's more likely to feature on tour than some of the names mentioned here.

 

[gooDevil]

LvG may need to use preseason to get our new signings acclimated to the first team, and to give himself a chance to rate our shed-full of players.

But I'm not worried about him giving the kids a chance, that's one of his calling cards of course.

 

[FromTheBench]

I really hope Pearson and Rothwell get a chance. No way is it a year too early imo, they are already 19 if we wait another year they'll be 20 with no experience. They held their own against Bentaleb and Dembele and if they aren't getting playing time here I think they should be out on loan. There is no point holding players like them back.

I really hope they get a chance too, but Carrick/Cleverley/Herrera/Fletcher and even Anderson had no WC and should go on tour so tough for CM's in terms of numbers.

A forgotten man but Petrucci already back at Carrington for pre-season and he's more likely to feature on tour than some of the names mentioned here.

He didn't go last time around. Not sure what he's done last season to warrant going this time tbh.

He's been badly curtailed by injuries and is really sad but i think he is at the club till he can find a new good club for himself.

 

[PS18]

A forgotten man but Petrucci already back at Carrington for pre-season and he's more likely to feature on tour than some of the names mentioned here.

Hmm, not sure - few of the names might be theoretically further down the pecking order if we were picking a U21 side but think they'd all arguably make more sense as tour inclusions than Petrucci at this point. Real shame but his moment's gone I think, wouldn't be surprised if he moves on before the start of the season.

 

[gooDevil]

Will be very interesting to see how LvG uses the summer tour.

Considering it's his first chance to look at the team on the pitch under his direction, I expect he'll take it very seriously and we won't see as many youth players as we might otherwise.

Again, van Gaal is famous for giving youth a chance so I don't think we need to worry about our quality in the reserves going to waste.

If van Gaal does play the kids a fair bit on tour, I wonder if we're more likely to see the older players like Lingard, Petrucci and the Keane brothers or the younger players like Rothwell, Pearson, Lawrence and Wilson.

 

[Kag]

I really hope Pearson and Rothwell get a chance. No way is it a year too early imo, they are already 19 if we wait another year they'll be 20 with no experience. They held their own against Bentaleb and Dembele and if they aren't getting playing time here I think they should be out on loan. There is no point holding players like them back.

Good post. People tend to look upon our youth players as younger than they really are. Varela, for example, is 21 years old and has played one professional football match. That isn't right. Our lads need to be sent on loan earlier, faster and with the purpose of playing games. Send them into the League 1 or League 2 if needs be, it'll be a damn sight more productive and realistic than a season in the reserves playing no more than 20 football matches.

English football falls apart between the age of 18 and 21. The Shaw's, Rooney's and Sterling's of this world are good enough to bridge the gap, but so much more talent is unfulfilled because young players play far too little competitive football between the prime development ages of 18-21.

 

[gooDevil]

Lingard is our most developed youth player, with the best accomplishments on loan, the most prepared to become a squad member next season. But then I'm a big fan of his, I'd have him over Young and Valencia.

Wilson has so much talent that I think you have to take him, now that Januzaj is a first team player I'd say Wilson is the reserve player with the most potential.

Lawrence probably deserves to be mentioned next, he had a successful loan though he played mostly on the wing. He's been mostly a striker for us in the academy and reserve teams so I hope he gets time at striker as I think that he's much stronger there.

Rothwell would come next for me as there's still a need for midfielders who are comfortable on the ball playing quick pass and move football, even if we do bring in another high priced midfielder. He's probably in line for a loan instead of a year with the first team, but the summer would do him good.

Pearson has a bigger opportunity as we've still not brought in a defensive midfield specialist and that is Pearson's biggest strength. Like Rothwell he's probably too raw to be a squad player next season but some preseason time would be a great help, especially against high quality opposition.

Likewise Tom Thorpe, Michael Keane, Paddy McNair and Charni Ekangamene will be eying a spot in the squad with Vidic and Rio leaving and, as yet, no one coming in.

Varela, Janko and Reece James will have noticed we still have only 1 RB in the squad and we may have only 1 LB if Evra goes to Juve as has been suggested.

 

[Stobzilla]

Lingard is our most developed youth player, with the best accomplishments on loan, the most prepared to become a squad member next season. But then I'm a big fan of his, I'd have him over Young and Valencia.

Wilson has so much talent that I think you have to take him, now that Januzaj is a first team player I'd say Wilson is the reserve player with the most potential.

Lawrence probably deserves to be mentioned next, he had a successful loan though he played mostly on the wing. He's been mostly a striker for us in the academy and reserve teams so I hope he gets time at striker as I think that he's much stronger there.

Rothwell would come next for me as there's still a need for midfielders who are comfortable on the ball playing quick pass and move football, even if we do bring in another high priced midfielder. He's probably in line for a loan instead of a year with the first team, but the summer would do him good.

Pearson has a bigger opportunity as we've still not brought in a defensive midfield specialist and that is Pearson's biggest strength. Like Rothwell he's probably too raw to be a squad player next season but some preseason time would be a great help, especially against high quality opposition.

Likewise Tom Thorpe, Michael Keane, Paddy McNair and Charni Ekangamene will be eying a spot in the squad with Vidic and Rio leaving and, as yet, no one coming in.

Varela, Janko and Reece James will have noticed we still have only 1 RB in the squad and we may have only 1 LB if Evra goes to Juve as has been suggested.

Just a point on Tom Thorpe, Correct me if I am wrong but isn't he also just as handy in a defensive central midfield role ?

 

[gooDevil]

Just a point on Tom Thorpe, Correct me if I am wrong but isn't he also just as handy in a defensive central midfield role ?

I wouldn't go that far personally, but he has played there a fair bit and has done okay imo.

Better than your average CB in midfield but we also were pretty dour in offense with him out there, though fairly tight defensively.

I'd be pretty surprised if he became a midfielder instead of a center back.

 

[Stobzilla]

I wouldn't go that far, but he has played there a fair bit and has done okay.

Better than your average CB in midfield but we also were pretty dour in offense with him out there, though fairly tight defensively.

I'd be pretty surprised if he became a midfielder instead of a center back.

Cheers, I couldn't remember back to season before last when he played a few games there. Good to know he has that kind of flexibility though, again, something which could stand him in good stead with the new manager.

 

[gooDevil]

Cheers, I couldn't remember back to season before last when he played a few games there. Good to know he has that kind of flexibility though, again, something which could stand him in good stead with the new manager.

LvG loves a ball playing CB so I'd think that ability would definitely make his stand out.

 

[Red Comet]

Rothwell would come next for me as there's still a need for midfielders who are comfortable on the ball playing quick pass and move football, even if we do bring in another high priced midfielder. He's probably in line for a loan instead of a year with the first team, but the summer would do him good.

You mean like Tom Cleverly?

I'm worried about the fans that will get on his back once he fail to tackle like Roy Keane or pass like Paul Scholes.

 

[Gerald G]

Given the fact that we'll have hardly any first teamers available for the 1st match I think a few will travel.

I expect Lindegaard and Amos/Johnstone to travel in the GK department.

I think Reece James or/and Charni will travel as we won't have a natural left-back until Shaw comes back to play.
Also we only have one first team CB in Jonny Evans so I would say Michael Keane is a dead cert and probably Tom Thorpe.
Rafael being our only RB should mean Vermijl/Varela will also travel.

Our central midfield is the only bit OK as we have Carrick, Fletcher, Cleverley, Herrera + Anderson & Powell? I would love it if Rothwell and/or Pearson went instead of Anderson as I feel he should be going but I don't think that will happen unfortunately.

On the wings it'll probably be Zaha, Young, Lawrence, Lingard + Bebe?

I think Wilson/W.Keane and Henriquez will also travel.

So in terms of youngsters it could be: M. Keane, Thorpe, Vermijl, James, Lawrence, Powell, Lingard, Wilson, Henriquez, W. Keane. Varela, Charni, Johnstone?

Our early exits will most likely be back for the 2nd or 3rd game though so it's hard to tell at the same time, he might just bring a couple because of that. It's usually never as much as I think anyway but with a lack of defensive and attacking options there may be quite a few.

On the other hand some youngsters/first teamers may be on the verge of going on loan or being sold so it's really difficult to predict.

 

[gooDevil]

You mean like Tom Cleverly?

I'm worried about the fans that will get on his back once he fail to tackle like Roy Keane or pass like Paul Scholes.

Poor Tom, from Hot to Not in near record time, you know, for someone to didn't shag a grannie or summat.

There was a certain defeatist bent to having Moyes as manager, I couldn't see Cleverley ever finding his form again under him as nothing would ever change in how Moyes set us out.

There's probably more hope for Cleverley under LvG than I suspect, he's certainly shown he can compete against quality teams, it's just a matter of a manager being able to work with his strengths and minimize the effect of his weaknesses.

Hopefully we bring in another top midfielder and we don't have to worry much about Cleverley except as a bonus.

 

[Mickson]

Amos should be sold immediately.

Johnstone
Vermijl, M.Keane, Thorpe, Blackett, James
Lingard, Powell, Lawrence, Zaha
W.Keane, Wilson, Henriquez

but of course someone like Charni is gonna go altough he has no future here. I'm unsure of Vermijl and was gonna take Varela but I think that Vermijl derserves a chance on the tour at least.

Edit: Forgot about Zaha.

 

[GDaly95]

Really interested to see how Powell does. I don't think he'll make it here but SAF seemed adamant that he'll one day become an England international in his book so he obviously rates him highly.

Who would be closer to the first team between Vermijl and Varela? I've seen a bit of them but not enough to judge. I was surprised when I saw that Vermijl is 22! Surely if he isn't given a chance in the near enough future then he'll be sold on?

 

[mo0]

on what basis are you writing Powell off on?

 

[Brightonian]

on what basis are you writing Powell off on?

The very, very bad signs last season. Which, significantly, were not in opposition to things we know about him from the rest of his career so far, but in addition to them. So there's less evidence to claim it was just a bad season.

That said, I wouldn't fully write him off (and nor, to be fair to him, did GDaly95).

Who would be closer to the first team between Vermijl and Varela? I've seen a bit of them but not enough to judge. I was surprised when I saw that Vermijl is 22! Surely if he isn't given a chance in the near enough future then he'll be sold on?

Personally I rate Varela a shade higher. He's probably roughly at the same level Vermijl was at his age, but there's a little spark about his game that I never saw in Vermijl's - the odd lovely dribble into the box/down the wing, the occasional last ditch recovery tackle. He's much faster than Vermijl. And it can't be ignored that Vermijl was at the same stage in his development two years ago but doesn't seem to have made significant progress, which is rarely a good sign.

 

[Sammyjunn]

No Pereira guys?

 

[Brightonian]

Amos should be sold immediately.

Johnstone
Vermijl, M.Keane, Thorpe, Blackett, James
Lingard, Powell, Lawrence, Zaha
W.Keane, Wilson, Henriquez

but of course someone like Charni is gonna go altough he has no future here. I'm unsure of Vermijl and was gonna take Varela but I think that Vermijl derserves a chance on the tour at least.

Edit: Forgot about Zaha.

Just been sold to Zulte Waregem.

 

[FromTheBench]

The very, very bad signs last season. Which, significantly, were not in opposition to things we know about him from the rest of his career so far, but in addition to them. So there's less evidence to claim it was just a bad season.

That said, I wouldn't fully write him off (and nor, to be fair to him, did GDaly95).

Bad season ? Am i missing something ? Started off bit slow as he was injured in the summer but then He was amongst Wigan's best players if not the best player in first half of the season. Then had injury issues in last 2/3 months and some silly discipline problems there which led to him being sidelined towards the end after he had recovered as the team when he was out was doing well anyway.

He still ended the season as their top scorer and was nominated among their POTY candidates IIRC. Scored some pretty good goals as well playing in advanced roles than he is at best at when they didn't have a striker.

 

[Brightonian]

Bad season ? Am i missing something ? Started off bit slow as he was injured in the summer but then He was amongst Wigan's best players if not the best player in first half of the season. Then had injury issues in last 2/3 months and some silly discipline problems there which led to him being sidelined towards the end after he had recovered as the team when he was out was doing well anyway.

He still ended the season as their top scorer and was nominated among their POTY candidates IIRC. Scored some pretty good goals as well playing in advanced roles than he is at best at when they didn't have a striker.

He had a couple of good months early in the season; 'first half' is a big exaggeration. Really it was a few really strong performances and a couple of key goals which created that impression anyway - I watched loads of those games, and he often wasn't anything special, just got his 'right place in the right time' right.

He had an injury or two over the winter but still played plenty of games in the second third of the season. However his form dropped off dramatically, and weaknesses which were in his game even when he was playing well (and indeed during his time with our U21s - I haven't seen much of him from his Crewe days so can't testify to those) began to look more and more obstructive. Namely a lack of pace and mobility, poor movement to be available for the ball, a lack of a sense of when to dribble, when to pass and when to shoot, and an inability to get himself into the game.

However the worst sign for me is how quickly his attitude plummeted once he was struggling on the pitch. By February, you could see him start to sulk ten minutes into games if he wasn't getting the ball. He'd stop bothering to look for it, to make any kind of movement, and would start to take silly potshots. Invariably he got taken off in these matches. This sort of thing even happened in games he should have been excited for, especially the FA cup games including the one against Arsenal. Rosler got pissed off with it, as became fairly public, and dropped him. And there was the drink-driving ban, which on its own is not really relevant but just adds to the picture.

I'm obviously painting a deliberately dark picture there to emphasise how bad a season it looked when you were actually watching the games, despite the stats. He was played for most of that season as a striker, which he clearly doesn't believe is his best position (unlike Rosler). But you'd still want him to put his head down and get on with it, especially because his own lack of drive, mobility and tempo as a midfielder is probably the reason Rosler came to think that.

 

[limerickcitykid]

Who would be closer to the first team between Vermijl and Varela? I've seen a bit of them but not enough to judge. I was surprised when I saw that Vermijl is 22! Surely if he isn't given a chance in the near enough future then he'll be sold on?

I have no clue how Vermijl did at NEC but from what I have seen in the reserves I'd say they are fairly equal. I'd say Varela has the bigger potential whereas one thing I loved about Vermijl who may never put in a spectacular performance but was always consistent. If Vermijl can bring his consistent good displays to first team level which I think he can than he could have the edge as a back-up because reliability is something I'd expect most managers to really look for in squad players. Either or for me are good players and hope they'll be used this season. I wonder what LVG knows about Vermijl. Using Vermijl as back-up and giving Varela a loan would be a good decision for this summer imo.

No Pereira guys?

I don't think he deserves it. If you look at the no.10 spot we are loaded with first team players there and also have Lingard, Lawrence and Powell who play there who have impressed on loans and are further advanced than Andreas. At CM I think most would agree that Rothwell and Pearson were better the past season. I was impressed with Andreas showing more consistency at the turn of the year but taking a lead role in the reserves should be his next step.

 

[Sammyjunn]

I have no clue how Vermijl did at NEC but from what I have seen in the reserves I'd say they are fairly equal. I'd say Varela has the bigger potential whereas one thing I loved about Vermijl who may never put in a spectacular performance but was always consistent. If Vermijl can bring his consistent good displays to first team level which I think he can than he could have the edge as a back-up because reliability is something I'd expect most managers to really look for in squad players. Either or for me are good players and hope they'll be used this season. I wonder what LVG knows about Vermijl. Using Vermijl as back-up and giving Varela a loan would be a good decision for this summer imo.


I don't think he deserves it. If you look at the no.10 spot we are loaded with first team players there and also have Lingard, Lawrence and Powell who play there who have impressed on loans and are further advanced than Andreas. At CM I think most would agree that Rothwell and Pearson were better the past season. I was impressed with Andreas showing more consistency at the turn of the year but taking a lead role in the reserves should be his next step.

You are right, the others deserve it more but I just cant see Rothwell making it here at United, Pearson is a big doubt for me, and I think Pereira will be a hit at Old Trafford, but you gotta deserve it, so yeah maybe its best for him to make the next step first. On Vermijl, imo after Janmaat he was the best RB in the Eredevisie, he was very consistent and attackingly very good. The best player at that moment (piazon) couldnt get past that Vermijl, I remember. Could be a good back up for the LB and RB.

 

[hobbers]

So many you would probably say deserve to be given chances on the tour - Varela, Powell, Lawrence, Lingard, Keane, Wilson, Johnstone, Janko, James, Thorpe, Blackett, Pereira, Henriquez and Pearson

Lingard and Mike Keane will almost certainly be going I'd have thought.

Will the tour squad be announced tomorrow at the presser? I suppose it must be?