Do, the big guest ion
@gkmacca is are any of these youngsters going to either be able to, it have the opportunity to step up and have a crack at the first team.
Obviously, we’re not talking keep the lines of Salah or Mane out of the team - but are they good enough that we don’t need to sign other attacking or midfield players.
Secondary question to that is - do they need to be playing regularly- I mean, they need experience of playing, so sitting on the bench isn’t necessarily going to help their development.
The youngsters coming through do seem genuinely talented - it’d be awesome if we were sitting on a golden generation - in the way Utd were 25 years ago.
I’d be ok with us not spending shitloads in the remaining transfer window (apart from on a keeper), if I had absolute confidence that Brewster, Ojo, Wilson, Kent, Woodburn & even Ejaria (there’s probably others) could minimise the need for external players.
Good questions. I think the one who needs the most careful thought is Wilson. I'm confident he can make a mark this season, playing in cup games and coming on as a sub for any of the front three. But that has to be balanced with what playing week in, week out, on loan might do to his development. I hope we keep him and he makes the impact I think he's capable of.
Brewster for me is going to be brilliant. You can't be absolutely certain, of course, but I'll be stunned if he doesn't become a regular in the match day squad and really progresses rapidly.
So Wilson and Brewster I feel are the (as near as) certs.
I've not seen much of Ojo on loan, in between his injuries. The coaching staff worked really hard to get him to be more positionally aware and more effective in the use of his speed but he was frustratingly slow in responding. I gather he's returned looking much more mature and focussed, so I'll watch with interest this summer. If he clicks then Origi may as well pack his bags. He's got so much speed and strength he could be fantastic for us but he's still got it all to prove.
Kent is the really fascinating one this summer. I've been a big fan of his for years. He's got the kind of pace that kills defenders and scares them from pushing up. Lose the ball to him on the half way line and you're finished. He's also got a great shot from outside the area, and all the good wide player tricks. When he went to Barnsley on loan he progressed as well as expected, but then he came back, went to Germany on loan and was barely used, then sent to Bristol City where the manager immediately decided this player whom he'd personally secured wasn't 'right' for his style of play, and it really looked like the lad was slipping into obscurity. But he's come back sounding very determined, and he played like his old self yesterday. If he could go on loan to a club that would really use him and push him, he should go, but otherwise, if he keeps up his good play this summer, we should keep him in the squad and see what happens.
As for Woodburn, I think it's his position that's the problem. He's capable of filling in just about anywhere in midfield or in attack, but he hasn't yet got a real identity as a player, and I'm not sure he's got a long term future with us unless he finds one, that suits the team's needs, pronto. Personally I think he's best floating around behind the strikers, and if we don't bring in a Fakir or someone similar he might prove himself there in the autumn, but he's got to impose himself now on the manager's mind. He's clever, he's technically excellent, he's versatile but he's got to show he can be more than a utility player. A spell on loan seems the logical choice, but again, it has to be somewhere where he'll play all the time.
