One former Manchester United Academy starlet has claimed he was close to making his first-team debut under Jose Mourinho, before injuries ruined it all.
Jose Mourinho’s time at Manchester United was precisely what everyone expected. In his first summer, he signed several high-level players, such as Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and the side were fantastic.
The club won the Community Shield in Mourinho’s first game in charge and went on to secure the EFL Cup and the Europa League trophy in the 2016/17 season, his first in charge at Old Trafford.
Then, after signings such as Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic, the club finished second with 81 points, 19 points behind Premier League winners Manchester City, who secured 100 points.
But following a few failed signings, such as Alexis Sánchez, and spats within the club’s hierarchy and players, he was fired in December 2018, with Ole Gunnar Solskjær taking charge.
Ercolani opens up on United debut chances
During Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford, he handed debuts to multiple Academy stars, including Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Scott McTominay, while using the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard as key weapons in his attacking line. However, one player he never got to hand a debut to is Luca Ercolani.
Now playing for Serie C outfit Pianese, the Italian defender spent five years at United within the club’s Academy, and in an interview with Corriere Romagna, he has revealed that Mourinho wanted to hand him a chance in Red, but injuries prevented him from doing so.
He said, “I signed a three-year contract with a two-year extension. Mourinho saw me as a good fit, but unfortunately, I suffered two injuries. In the third year, I broke a metatarsal in my foot, which kept me out for three months.
“The following year, after the first four games, I underwent surgery in London due to a torn cruciate ligament in my knee. It was the Covid period, and my absence was prolonged.”
Following the injury, this was enough for United to opt against continuing with Ercolani in the Academy. “When I returned, the club made it clear they wouldn’t renew my contract, so I jumped at the first opportunity, returning to Italy to play for Carpi, who had just been relegated from Serie B.
“The English experience was a learning experience, and not just on a footballing level. I was part of a club with incredible facilities and an extraordinary footballing culture… I remember being part of the Academy, and we trained with double sessions every day. I was fortunate to have an experience of this calibre.”
United’s Academy is starting to regrow
Since the emergence of Rashford and McTominay in the late 2010s, there has been a lack of regular young stars breaking through into the first team at Old Trafford.
Read More: Manchester United’s 24-man training squad revealed ahead of Everton clash as Kobbie Mainoo missing
Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho are the exceptions. Still, even then, the former is struggling for game time under Rúben Amorim, and the latter was sold to Chelsea in the summer for £40 million after falling out with the United head coach.
However, in the last season or so, there has been an emergence of brilliant teen stars making their way through the United ranks. The likes of Shea Lacey, Chido Obi, and Jack Fletcher are making waves in training, while 15-year-old JJ Gabriel is playing years ahead of his age.
There is a lot of hope at the club that, once Amorim’s first team becomes more settled, consistent, and playing in multiple competitions, senior debuts will start to come for a whole host of young stars.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 14:00 pm (GMT) on the United View YouTube channel.