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Man Utd youngster Ayden Heaven is the latest breakout star at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim has been impressed by the performances of Ayden Heaven in the Manchester United first-team but knows tougher tests lie ahead for the talented teenager. Heaven has made three appearances since he signed from Arsenal in the winter transfer window and earned his first start as United defeated Real Sociedad on Thursday night.
Heaven was one of the best performers on the night and didn't look out of place on the European stage, with another display that showcased his calmness and confidence on the ball.
The 18-year-old looks to be the ideal fit for Amorim's tactical set-up and could be a long-term rival to Lisandro Martinez for a starting role in the line up. It is important to reiterate just how young the centre-back is, though, and Amorim has warned that he could face a few learning curves against experienced Premier League forwards.
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Ruben Amorim issues Ayden Heaven verdict
Heaven shone on his first United start against Real Sociedad in midweek and is expected to keep his place in the line up when they face Leicester City in the Premier League this weekend. The 18-year-old has looked good in all three of his appearances for United first-team, though it is still very early days in his Old Trafford career and expectations might need to be eased. Amorim is a huge fan of the winter signing from Arsenal but wants him to remain grounded after his breakthrough into the first-team squad. "If he continues like that, he's going to play," Amorim told reporters ahead of the Leicester match.
"Of course, he's young, he didn't play much this season, maybe just 45 minutes for the U21s, then a few minutes here and there, a full game. I really like his confidence, I like his pace, I think he's good in defending the box. I think he's quite complete, but he has a lot of work to do. In the Premier League, we will face a different kind of player and he's going to be tested in a different way, so we are trying to manage all this because he's still really young."
United will look to keep the momentum going when they face Leicester in the Premier League this weekend, and although their primary focus is on winning the Europa League, there is a financial incentive to remain competitive in the league. Each place in the Premier League is worth an estimated additional £3.1 million in prize money, which could make a huge difference to United this summer.
Amorim added: "Everything is important and we need to continue with this feeling that we can win games and games after games. It doesn't matter the time of rest or the time to prepare the next game, we can do it and we showed against Arsenal. We have to be humble and forget that, forget the table and face Leicester like we faced Real Sociedad today. We just need to win to improve our position in the table. The most important thing is to continue with this feeling of winning and that we are improving as a team."
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Related topics:Ruben AmorimAyden HeavenPremier League
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