Ruben Amorim might have got his much-needed first win on the board in the Premier League, but his handling of youngsters is under scrutiny, and one player can change it all.
The Kobbie Mainoo situation has left a sour taste in the mouths of Man Utd fans, who championed Ruben Amorim as a promoter of youth.
While that hasn’t materialised as yet, Man Utd have a rich crop of talent waiting in the academy sides as well, so the academy record should be safe.
That fear will automatically go out of the window if the one Man Utd wonderkid being groomed for a debut under Amorim after being trialled in a new role.
Bendito Mantato, Amad, Reece Munro, Toby Collyer of Manchester United in action during a first team training session at Carrington Training Ground on July 07, 2025
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Man Utd are prepping Bendito Mantato
Man Utd U21s played a marquee game at Leigh Sports Village against Man City U21s recently, a fixture they won 2-1, courtesy of goals from Chido Obi and Amir Ibragimov.
It continued Ibragimov’s rich vein of form, while Obi will get some confidence by scoring after being out of the first-team picture for a while.
However, in a game where many youngsters shone, it was Bendito Mantato who had the most reasons to feel encouraged about his first-team prospects.
That is because Mantato, normally a right-winger who has also been trialled as the right wing-back, played as the left-back against City.
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It has long been theorised that Mantato can be Amorim’s wing-back, but he played as one of the No. 10s on the pre-season tour this season.
With the No. 10 position overloaded with competition in the senior team, and Amad locking down that right wing-back spot, Mantato can feel good about the City game.
Instead of starting on the right wing, he played at the one position where the senior team has just one bona fide option – Patrick Dorgu.
Left wing-back is not a position that exists in the academy setup, so left-back is the next best thing. For United to play Mantato there against a formidable side clearly shows that they are grooming him to be a dynamic overlapping wing-back for the senior team.
Whether Mantato can develop his game on the defensive side remains to be seen, but he passed that test against City with flying colours.
He attacked with purpose and defended with concentration, making use of the overlapping opportunities to stretch the opposition.
Some last-man crosses were cleared with authority, and he showed press-resistance to start buildup moves from the back.
Mantato’s versatility puts him closer to a first-team berth
Considering Mantato has already been marked as an option for both positions on the right wing (wing-back and right-sided No. 10), adding left wing-back to his repertoire will bring him closer to a first-team berth.
Amorim is under pressure to start using United’s youth more, and Mantato could well be the first beneficiary due to that versatility.
He just needs to keep up this level of form and continue to combine his attacking flair with hard work defensively.
The game against City in an unfamiliar position was a great start to that journey for Mantato.