Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images
Michael Carrick is providing a lot of hints about his plan for this year during the pre-season, but his actual hidden gem has played just ten minutes.
Generally, the players who are going to be a key part of the manager’s plans have a steadily increasing role in pre-season to get them in shape.
That has happened with the likes of Andrey Santos, Mason Mount, or Bryan Mbeumo, to name a few.
However, it’s clear that Michael Carrick does love one player in particular who has played just ten minutes so far after three pre-season games.
Manchester United v Atletico de Madrid - Pre-Season Friendly
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Manchester United U18 v Sunderland U18: FA Youth Cup
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Jim Thwaites played his first minutes vs Atletico
Carrick took a youthful squad for games against Wrexham and Rosenborg, but a lot of fringe players were cut from the squad against Atletico.
The likes of Dan Gore and Toby Collyer have already been told to leave, while Radek Vitek not playing a single minute against Atletico means he’s off too.
It’s clear that Carrick treated those two games as a proving ground for fringe players, as a last chance for them to show he should change his mind.
Therefore, it is notable that Jim Thwaites didn’t play a single minute in those fixtures, and his first appearance came against an elite team.
Like JJ Gabriel, who’s also untouchable, Thwaites came on in the 81st minute against Atletico and handled himself well.
Not playing with the fringe players in the past two games has actually ended up as a boon, as it means that Carrick likely sees him as a part of the first team this season.
It’s not a surprise, as Carrick has had his eye on Thwaites for a while, starting last season. Gabriel is the worst kept secret at Old Trafford, but Thwaites is the actual hidden gem.
Michael Carrick rates Thwaites highly
This is not the first time that Thwaites has been given a signal of endorsement by the Man Utd manager.
Last season, Thwaites was the only player to make the senior squad for the last game of the campaign against Brighton among those who played for the academy the previous day.
Jim Thwaites graphic
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Carrick said at the time that he wanted to reward Thwaites, and it was clear that he was the perfect mentor for the youngster.
This was followed by Thwaites looking much more ready physically coming into this season, which would have done his prospects no harm at all.
Now, with his first appearance coming against Atletico, it’s clear that he’s right alongside the likes of Shea Lacey and JJ Gabriel in terms of first-team prospects.
He might have played only ten minutes so far this pre-season, but the timing of those minutes says everything about how highly he is rated by Carrick.