Manchester United and the fans didn’t have much to be positive about in this wretched season but Ayden Heaven’s surprise breakout was huge, and now they might have another one next season.
By Ruben Amorim’s own admission, Ayden Heaven wasn’t a player he thought of as a “First-team signing”, as evidenced by the player making his debut for the U21s first.
However, by the time the season finished, Amorim was thanking Jason Wilcox for Heaven, a marker of how far the 18-year-old came in such a short time.
The stars are aligning so that it could happen again next season and at the position United need the most. Their 18-year-old summer signing is exciting.
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Man Utd’s next “Ayden Heaven” is Enzo Kana-Biyik
If Ineos’ plan going forward is to keep supplementing first-team signings with low-risk punts on young players, then “doing an Ayden Heaven” needs to become a term.
It’s likely that after seeing the success of Heaven, United have already signed a player who can replicate his meteoric rise next season.
That player is none other than United’s first summer signing, an 18-year-old striker from Le Havre in France, Enzo Kana-Biyik.
Biyik was signed on a free transfer and he’s set to arrive at Old Trafford at the start of the next season, alongside fellow young arrival Diego Leon.
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Kana-Biyik hails from the reputed Le Havre academy which saw Paul Pogba take his early steps in football, among others.
As a striker, Kana-Biyik can hardly ask for a better start to life at Man Utd because the senior team is screaming out for a striker right now.
Especially if United sign two attacking midfielders, the money to spend on a striker will have to come from sales, further strengthening Kana-Biyik’s candidature.
Enzo Kana-Biyik’s crucial pre-season
It is almost certain that the French striker will go to pre-season with the squad, as Amorim is unlikely to ship him off on loan/academy without taking a look.
Heaven’s success has opened Amorim’s mind to giving young signings a chance in the first team to see whether they can sink or swim.
The centre-back got his opportunity because Luke Shaw was injured and Lisandro Martinez picked up an injury. For Kana-Biyik, Rasmus Hojlund is his only competition, while Chido Obi is even younger than him.
The stars are aligning for the Frenchman and if he can make an impact in a crucial pre-season for him, then Ineos might have to shelve their plans for him.
He can become a member of the first-team squad straightaway in an Ayden Heaven-like breakout.