Manchester United’s loan army this season is plenty strong and there have been mixed performances from those players involved but one player is having a hellish time of things.
Marcus Rashford is flying at Aston Villa while Antony and Tyrell Malacia have rediscovered themselves at Betis and PSV respectively.
At the academy level, Ethan Williams has shone at Cheltenham Town while the likes of Jack Kingdon and Ethan Wheatley are at least getting first-team football.
Meanwhile, there’s a player who’s not just away from first-team football but has been handed yet another blow with the manager who brought him to the club now sacked.
Photo by Morgan Harlow - MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Morgan Harlow – MUFC/Manchester United via Getty Images
Dan Gore’s nightmare loan spell
When Dan Gore shook off his injury in pre-season last summer and returned to action for Man Utd U21s, the hope was that the worst is behind him.
Gore impressed for Man Utd U21s and genuinely looked like a class above academy football, so a loan was promptly arranged for him at Rotherham United.
After a puzzling Port Vale loan last season, the aim was to send him to a stable club with a good manager where he could shake off his injuries and find form again.
Cue damning remarks from Steve Evans on Gore’s injury before walking back on them and it being revealed that Gore had picked up a serious issue.
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So serious was it that Gore returned to Man Utd while Evans looked forward to getting him back.
Well, Gore might return to Rotherham United but Evans definitely isn’t after being sacked by the club following a 0-4 defeat to Crawley Town.
With that, Gore’s spell which nobody thought could get any worse has just managed to do just that.
Gore has been extremely unlucky
The first pre-season under Erik ten Hag looked like United were getting a bonafide first-team talent in Dan Gore but his career effectively peaked there.
From incessant injuries to weird loan spells, Gore has been extremely unlucky because he’s been a consummate professional on his part.
Unfortunately, football is a cutthroat business and it is looking increasingly likely that the boat to break through at Old Trafford has passed him by.
His United contract expires in 2026 so there might another loan spell for him, provided he remains injury free but chances are that he will have to get a permanent move for himself for some stability of surroundings.
His journey so far just hammers home that the player can do everything right, from being a model professional to having buckets of talent, but it can still go wrong in youth development because so many factors are involved.