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Paul McNamara

Recent evidence would suggest that among the young Manchester United players in Hong Kong this week, at least one is on a fast track to the top.
It was only two years ago, after all, that a 13-year-old JJ Gabriel came to the city and scored twice in a pair of victories for his United team.
Now 15, Gabriel made his first senior team outing in a 2-1 friendly victory over Atletico Madrid earlier this month. Although still noteworthy, Gabriel’s age attracted far less broad comment than it might have before the recent spate of frighteningly early Premier League baptisms.
Ethan Nwaneri, Max Dowman and Jeremy Monga, the three players who have appeared in England’s top flight at 15, all made their debuts in the past four years.
Jaap Stam, the former United defender, had to wait until he was 20 for his professional bow with FC Zwolle.

“Sometimes, it’s simply about genetics and ability, but clubs have more people in academies to guide players, to give them the confidence that if they do well they’ll reach the first team, and to accelerate that process,” Stam told the South China Morning Post.
“[Senior football] is much faster and more intense, but if they have the ability, they will quickly grow from training with those first-team players.
“That’s what you’re seeing at Manchester United. Arsenal and Manchester City are good at it, too. If there’s a chance to give a young player minutes, they do it. It shows how these clubs are being run, and that they’re looking forward.”
It is striking, too, that players of schoolboy age are turning up in the Premier League comfortable in their own skins, straining to contribute and not just make up the numbers.
Monga, who joined Manchester City this summer for £12.5 million (US$16.8 million), told the SCMP that he was “very nervous” before his Leicester City debut away at Newcastle United in April last year.
“But when I had my first touch, all the nerves disappeared,” he said. “I focused and everything went smoothly.”
The then Leicester boss, Ruud van Nistelrooy, would trust Monga with a further six Premier League appearances at the height of a relegation battle.
Dowman made his first senior Arsenal appearance last August, then became the Premier League’s youngest scorer when he netted against Everton in March at the age of 16 years and 73 days.
An enterprising, progressive midfielder, he already owns a title-winner’s medal, having not been born when the club were previously crowned champions in 2004.

Before spells in charge of Reading, PEC Zwolle (formerly FC Zwolle), Feyenoord and FC Cincinnati, Stam, 52, began his managerial career with Jong Ajax, the reserve and development squad of the 28-time Dutch champions, Ajax Amsterdam.
“As the manager of an academy [or development] team, it’s not about you being successful,” Stam, a Premier League winner in each of his three Old Trafford seasons as a player, said.
“It’s about the players needing to make that next step. If you help them do it, you’ve done a great job.
“The number of staff around these young players is growing, they receive individual attention at a level that wasn’t there years ago.”
Manchester United’s under-16s are in Hong Kong for the sixth JC Youth Football Academy Summit. They lost to their city team counterparts 5-4 on penalties following a 2-2 draw at Mong Kok Stadium on Sunday, after being beaten 4-3 by Kitchee’s under-18s at the same venue 48 hours earlier.
Bendito Mantato, whose young brother Jasper Mantato is in the current under-16 cohort, made his first-team debut at 17 last December, 2½ years after he was man-of-the-match in a 3-0 United win over Hong Kong u18s.
Anthony Elanga, the Sweden international now at Newcastle United, was in the Manchester United contingent for the inaugural 2017 summit.
“It’s valuable for young players to experience working in a different culture,” said Stam, who has accompanied the United party to Hong Kong.
“This is another early step towards playing professionally, because they’re more prepared for pre-season tours, or European trips. It gives players an insight into how to live as a proper professional.”

One Manchester United player who came to Hong Kong 12 months ago, Darlington Osuchukwu, joined Athletic Bilbao last month.
Although United received no fee for the goalkeeper, who moved at 16, the wider access to elite playing opportunities for academy prospects partially stems from the potential for clubs to record pure profit on their sales; aiding compliance with financial fair play rules.
The obvious downside in some instances is that clubs find themselves flogging the family jewels for accounting purposes. Needing transfer revenue two years ago, Newcastle United were railroaded into selling home-grown Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest for £35 million.
Conversely, Chelsea and Manchester City view academy sales as cornerstones of their business models. According to a CIES Football Observatory report, issued in April, the London club were third in Europe for cash raised from transferring players they reared themselves, their €442 million (US$510 million) income behind only the €589 million and €454 million banked by Benfica and Ajax, respectively. Pulling in €404 million, City were sixth in the list.
In Stam’s view, the rush to sell has contributed to a decline in Ajax’s on-field fortunes. Last season, they finished fifth in the Dutch Eredivisie – their fourth straight campaign without silverware.
“If [selling gifted youngsters] happens a lot, the standard of football goes down,” he said. “We need to work very hard and be inventive to keep these players on board.”
The growing fearlessness of youth, perhaps the result of players seeing Premier League teams find room for Dowman, Monga and Nwaneri, who was 15 years and 181 days old when he was thrown into top-flight action for Arsenal four years ago, has left every club vulnerable to losing its brightest prospects.

Rio Ngumoha had been with Chelsea for eight years when he went to Liverpool at 16 two years ago. On his debut last year, Ngumoha became Liverpool’s youngest scorer when, at the age of 16 years and 361 days, he struck a late winner at Newcastle United.
Ryan McAidoo, 18, also quit the Stamford Bridge academy in 2024, switching to Manchester City.
Bullish enough before City’s recent clash against Inter Milan in Hong Kong to state his intention to “express myself and show the world what I can do”, he was good to his word during a fine exhibition of fast and direct wing play.
McAidoo made two fleeting senior appearances last term, scoring on his first outing in a 10-1 FA Cup thumping of Exeter City.
“The more experience you get, the more comfortable you become playing against men,” he told the SCMP. “I want more and more of it, and to become a better player.”
His impatience and ambition reflect an English Premier League that is increasingly empowering its youth.


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Manchester United celebrate their second goal goal against the Hong Kong under-16 team on Sunday. Photo: Karma Lo

Hong Kong’s U16 goalkeeper makes a save against Manchester United Academy in their JC Youth Football Academy Summit match at Mong Kok Stadium. Photo: Karma Lo

Manchester United in a hurry to resume play after drawing level at 1-1 against Hong Kong Photo: Karma Lo

Hong Kong’s U16 team beat Manchester United Academy on penalties. Photo: Karma Lo

The Hong Kong U16 team celebrate after beating the Manchester United side at Mong Kok Stadium. Photo: Karma Lo

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Football

Manchester United’s young guns back in Hong Kong aiming to emulate predecessors who gained first-team recognition


Manchester United’s young guns back in Hong Kong aiming to emulate predecessors who gained first-team recognition.


The kids are all right: English Premier League’s youthful heroes shining among game’s elite

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Manchester United’s young guns back in Hong Kong aiming to emulate predecessors who gained first-team recognition

Manchester United’s young guns back in Hong Kong aiming to emulate predecessors who gained first-team recognition