Manchester United are about to embark on what will possibly be the most important pre-season since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, and it promises to be a big one for one talent.
Ruben Amorim hasn’t been given the most ideal transfer window so far at Man Utd, to put it kindly.
Since flying out of the blocks with Matheus Cunha, the window has stuttered with negotiations for Bryan Mbeumo dragging.
While that is hardly ideal, it opens up the door for United’s dominant youngsters to make their mark. One yet-to-debut youngster has already been promised a space in the team by the Man Utd manager, and he solves a transfer worry.
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Ruben Amorim’s promise to Jim Thwaites
As far as exciting academy prospects at Carrington go, Jim Thwaites is arguably a name that is somewhere near the top of the list.
Thwaites was in first-team training at 16, and his set-piece prowess has him dubbed as the “Next David Beckham” in many youth circles.
However, unlike many other wonderkids who are hyped up only by the wider world, Thwaites is special in the sense that he has already been singled out by Amorim.
After Man Utd’s final game of the post-season tour against Hong Kong, Amorim broke the trend and brought up Thwaites’ name unprompted.
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Despite the midfielder playing just 15 minutes, Amorim said (via Man Utd official website), “I think Jimmy [Thwaites], in the last 15 minutes, as a midfielder, he wants to play. It doesn’t matter how many minutes. These kinds of young kids are really important. They will have space in our team.”
For a manager who has been eager to keep the feet of young players on the ground, this was a huge statement of intent, effectively promising Thwaites that if he kept up his professionalism, he would have a space in the team.
Not many would have thought it would come to fruition so soon, but the transfer window has provided the youngster with an unexpected boost.
Thwaites solves Man Utd’s transfer priority
United’s Mbeumo negotiations have been going on forever, the side effect of which is that they’ve already lost out on multiple striker targets.
It’s clear that a striker is an absolute must as the next man in, if and when Mbeumo joins, but Amorim’s list of priorities didn’t end there.
It has been reported that Amorim wants a midfielder next, but considering the rate at which Mbeumo is being worked on, combined with United’s financial condition, and their unsellable players, even a striker looks like a pipe dream, let alone another midfielder.
Enter Jim Thwaites, the wonderkid who could solve Amorim’s priority if he manages to break out like Ayden Heaven did last season.
Heaven’s surge has saved United millions in the market, and Thwaites, with his set-piece prowess and deceptive combativeness, can make the same case.
He has arguably done the hardest part, which is to catch Amorim’s eye in a brutally competitive youth academy, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The manager will form his squad for next season, and without a midfielder, combined with Christian Eriksen’s exit, will be eager for fresh blood in the squad.
The time to make good on his promise made less than two months ago has arrived.