Ayden Heaven alongside his teammates
Ayden Heaven alongside his teammates
Ayden Heaven's arrival at Manchester United in the winter transfer window wasn't exactly met with great fanfare.
The youngster had made just one senior appearance for Arsenal before his move to Old Trafford, coming on as a late substitute in a Carabao Cup win over Preston in October.
United's hefty summer spend meant the mid-season window was always going to be a quiet one, and so it proved. Heaven arrived in a deal worth just over £1million and little was expected of the youngster early in his Old Trafford career due to his age and lack of experience at the top level.
made his United debut off the bench against Fulham in the in March, with his Premier League debut coming the following week against former club Arsenal. A full debut soon followed against Real Sociedad in the Europa League, with the youngster slotting seamlessly into United's backline.
Ruben Amorim has been full of praise for Heaven since his arrival from Arsenal, saying after the final day win over Aston Villa: "Bringing Ayden... it is these kind of players that we need because he show a lot of character and quality after a big injury. We want this kind of player."
Heaven has already shown himself to be more than capable of holding his own in the first team, and his addition could prove to be crucial as United look to build a squad able to challenge for a European spot next term.
Should they complete a deal for Bryan Mbeumo, United will still have plenty of work to do in the market. A striker, midfielder, goalkeeper and maybe even a full-back are wanted at Old Trafford. It's a hefty to-do list for one summer, and so not having to add a centre-back to that list is a huge boost.
Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans have both left the club, while Lisandro Martinez's injury means it is unclear when he will be available again. That leaves Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro as United's natural centre-back options, though Luke Shaw and Noussair Mazraoui can fill in if needed.
Tyler Fredricson performed admirably when given a chance last season but it is perhaps still too soon to judge whether he could cut it in the Premier League week in, week out. Had Heaven not arrived in the mid-season window, with only three senior, natural centre-backs available to Ruben Amorim to fill the three spots in the back line, there's every chance United would have needed to add a new centre-back to their summer wishlist.
Signing Heaven for little over £1m might have saved United millions.
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