IN almost every other way, Manchester United’s draw away to Wolves last month was unremarkable, but there was still a significance to the team picked by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the fixture. At 24 years and 173 days old, the average age of the United side was their youngest since the final day of the 2016-17, when they had nothing to play for in a dead rubber game against Crystal Palace.
Solskjaer has put a real focus on fitness and philosophy since taking over at Old Trafford, but youth has become the strongest cornerstone of his tenure, at least on the basis of his common narrative. Not since the early 1990s has there been such a clear path for United’s academy graduates into the first team.
The Norwegian has on a near-weekly basis underlined the importance of youth to his Man Utd masterplan, but his actions haven’t yet matched up to his words. Solskjaer’s United team might well be the youngest in the club’s recent history, but he is guilty of hypocrisy on the subject of youth. He has yet to prove himself as a promoter of young talent.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær always talks about the importance of the youth yet these three talented youngsters are on the bench!
They’re not getting the opportunity to prove themselves… #mufc pic.twitter.com/a4kY8fbqfd
— Reppin’ Utd (@ReppinUnited) September 14, 2019
Saturday’s home game against Leicester City provided an illustration of this. With Paul Pogba out injured, Solskjaer could have turned to either Tatith Chong or Angel Gomes, two teenagers with extremely bright futures. Instead, he turned to Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata, two 31-year-olds, and Andreas Pereira, a player first given an opportunity by Jose Mourinho last season.
Chong was brought off the bench for the final 20 minutes of the match, while Axel Tuenzebe, the 21-year-old defender who impressed on loan at Aston Villa, was thrown on in stoppage time. This was both players’ first appearance of the season, with Gomes and Mason Greenwood, arguably the most exciting young talent on United’s books right now left on the bench.
The case of Greenwood perhaps provides the most damning indictment of Solskjaer as a promoter of youth. In games where United have needed a goal, the striker has been overlooked. Take the matches against Wolves, Crystal Palace and Southampton – Greenwood has afforded just one, 24 and eight minutes respectively. James Garner, another highly-rated teenager, hasn’t made it on the pitch at all.
It could certainly be argued that Solskjaer is showing more faith in youth than Mourinho ever did, with Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay and Pereira all key first-team figures under the Norwegian, but he is still to prove his willingness to fast-track academy graduates into the lineup himself.
Marcus Rashford:
"We [Manchester United] do not have the most squad and we have some injuries, but it shows our courage and strength. We are not worried at all. We have returning players and young people waiting for their chance."#MUFC pic.twitter.com/leienkVe7n— Manchester United (@ManUnited_ENG_) September 15, 2019
Rashford, of course, was already proven at the top level, with the striker first given a chance by Louis van Gaal. McTominay was plucked from the academy by Mourinho, with the Portuguese even creating a new ‘Manager’s Player of the Year’ award to recognise the Scot after his first season as a senior professional. Pereira was also a frequent pick for Mourinho last season.
Daniel James is the one exception, the one youngster Solskjaer can take credit for bleeding into the United first team. But the Welsh winger, signed from Swansea City for £15 million in the summer, didn’t come through the club’s academy. He might be homegrown, but he wasn’t grown at Old Trafford.
United bought Daniel James for £15m! Let. That. Sink. In.
Scoring goals for fun!
Rashford wears DJ21 Pajama’s. pic.twitter.com/jmmGEcOoqb
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) September 9, 2019
In front of the media, Solskjaer has been keen to perpetuate the narrative that he is an impassioned advocate of youth. The Norwegian is only just getting his feet under the desk. It will take time for a club the size of Manchester United to be turned around and for Solskjaer to get the team he wants on the pitch. But Solskjaer is still to prove himself as the restarter of Man Utd’s academy conveyer belt so many are eager to paint him as.
