Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has called up teen trio Angel Gomes, Tahith Chong and James Garner to his Manchester United squad, but who are the young talents?
Ahead of their trip to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Wednesday, Solskjaer has called three players into his first-team squad and they come with sterling reputations from the youth ranks.
Here, we take a look at Gomes, Chong and Garner…
ANGEL GOMES
Gomes has been in and around United’s first team for a few years now, making his senior debut against Crystal Palace on the final day of the 2016/17 season, where he became the first player born in the 2000s to make a Premier League appearance.
The cousin of former United winger, Nani, the 18-year-old made a second Premier League appearance this season when he played nine minutes in a 3-1 win against Huddersfield on Boxing Day.
Gomes was part of the England U17 side that won the World Cup in October 2017 and despite captaining the national team at U16, U17 and U18 levels, does also qualify to play for Portugal and Angola.
The creative midfielder is also the youngest-ever recipient of the Jimmy Murphy Youth Team Player of the Year award – winning in 2017 at the age of 16 years and nine months old – and became the youngster player to net a hat-trick for United’s U18s in 2016, despite starting the game on the bench.
TAHITH CHONG
Signed from Feyenoord in 2016, Chong is the latest player to receive the Jimmy Murphy award – winning at the end of last season – and can be distinguished with his trademark big hair.
The Netherlands youth international impressed former manager Jose Mourinho so much that he earned a spot on United’s pre-season tour to the United States and caught the eye as a lone forward against Club America.
He has continued to perform well for the reserves – scoring seven times in all competitions – and has been in two of United’s senior matchday squads so far this season. He was on the bench during a 1-0 defeat to Juventus in the Champions League and eventually made his debut in a 2-0 FA Cup victory against Reading in January.
JAMES GARNER
Garner came in third behind Chong for the Jimmy Murphy accolade last season and also earned a spot on United’s pre-season tour along with his youth team-mates.
The 17-year-old is the youngest of the three and is yet to make a first-team appearance, but did make the bench for United’s 2-1 Champions League loss to Valencia in December and the FA Cup win against Reading.
He has featured across United’s youth teams too, making appearances for the U18s as well as the reserves this season, and operates primarily as a defensive midfielder.
Like Gomes before him, Garner is the captain of England’s U17s and steered them to the semi-finals of the European Championships in the summer, shortly after signing his first professional contract with the club.