Manchester United pride themselves on bringing through youngsters, and that tradition has a special place at the club, but not everyone makes it at the club.
Still, not being able to make it at Manchester United can’t be a judgement on the ability of the player, and being able to carve out a career as a professional footballer is admirable too.
Even more admirable is when someone who doesn’t make it accepts it was due to factors beyond their control, instead of making excuses.
A former Man Utd youngster who debuted under Jose Mourinho has done exactly that, wanting to ‘be real’ and not make excuses.
Demetri Mitchell of Manchester United is presented with the Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Season award by U23s manager Ricky Sbragia at the club's annual Player of the Year awards at Old Trafford on May 1, 2018
Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Demetri Mitchell makes Man Utd admission
United’s youth system is one of the best in the country right now, and Ineos have supercharged it, but there was once a time when it was suffering from the Glazers’ apathy.
It speaks volumes about the club that even during that time, talents like Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, and Scott McTominay broke through.
Alongside them was a player who was also given his debut by Jose Mourinho, but he only played one game before leaving United to carve out a career for himself.
Demetri Mitchell made his Man Utd debut in that famous game against Crystal Palace, where Mourinho rotated the whole team on the eve of the Europa League final against Ajax in 2017.
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Originally an attacker, Mitchell was converted to left-back in the academy, and he was among the highly-rated players at the club.
Unfortunately, a mixture of injuries plus upheaval in senior management conspired to halt his rise at Old Trafford, and he plays for League One’s Exeter City now.
Mitchell was asked on X about what he lacked to make it at the top level, and he said, “Wasn’t good enough, better to be real with yourself than to make excuses.”
In the comments, he was asked the most important attribute needed to make it to the top level, which he lacked, and Mitchell was honest again, saying, “Availability”.
Demetri Mitchell’s journey an example of unpredictable development
Mitchell was never talked about as a “generational prospect” in the academy, like, say, Mason Greenwood at the time or Shea Lacey now.
However, he was always good enough to make an impact in the academy and has proven since that he has what it takes to be a professional footballer.
Injuries, senior management, first-team position, and many other factors play into getting that all-important breakthrough, after which a player needs to maintain a consistent level of performance.
Marcus Rashford would never have had a two-goal debut had Anthony Martial not picked up an injury in the warm-up for the game, and then Will Keane also got injured.
Unfortunately, the injury bug plagued Mitchell as well, so it’s commendable that he’s still playing in the third tier of English football professionally.
At 28, not having regrets is the most important thing and having the self-awareness to accept where it went wrong is a positive way of thinking.