The breakout success stories under Ruben Amorim are plenty, considering he’s been at the club for less than a year, but one surprise stands tall above everything else.
Chido Obi’s breakout was a matter of when, rather than if, while Harry Amass got what he deserved for a long time.
Ayden Heaven was a surprise in the sense of the speed at which he broke out, but he was always highly rated since his days at Arsenal.
However, one player tore the script with his breakout, and with the pre-season coming up, he needs to prove it wasn’t a fluke and he’s here to stay.
Manchester United players line up.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Ruben Amorim’s surprise breakthrough talent is Tyler Fredricson
Godwill Kukonki, Reece Munro, Jaydan Kamason, Bendito Mantato, Daniel Armer, Jayden Ngwashi, and Rhys Bennett.
The names mentioned above are just a few who had been talked about more than Tyler Fredricson when the centre-back made his United debut.
If Fredricson’s debut came out of nowhere, his performance on his debut was even more of a surprise.
With all due respect to the player, he was never talked about in the academy as one of the top prospects tipped to become a first-team player one day.
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It is to his immense credit that he upended all expectations, and by the time the season finished, he had become a genuine rotational option for Amorim.
Amorim praised Fredricson multiple times, and he deserved it for his polished displays and calm style of play, where he looked unfazed about the huge step up he had taken.
Breaking onto the scene when everyone is unaware of your strengths and weaknesses is easy, especially when the breakout was so unexpected.
Now comes the challenge for Fredricson to sustain it, proving that he wasn’t a flash in the pan in 2024/25.
Fredricson needs to prove breakout wasn’t a fluke
By the time Fredricson got his United debut, it couldn’t have come at a better time and in an ‘easier’ context.
United’s Premier League campaign had been written off, and Amorim was simply keeping his senior players fresh for the Europa League.
Therefore, Fredricson came into a team that the Man Utd fans were happy to give a pass to, for good or bad displays.
The next season won’t be like that. Not only do United have to manage a much better season from the team’s perspective, Fredricson needs to prove he can do it when the scrutiny is ramped up.
He will get chances too, since Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans have left, while Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, and Ayden Heaven will need careful management to avoid recurring injuries.
If he proves his breakout wasn’t a fluke, he’d easily save United a cool £30m in the market they would have needed to spend on a defender next summer.