Three Manchester United youngsters were absent from the Under-21s clash against Tamworth in the National League Cup and one of them has already been promoted to Ruben Amorim’s side.
Manchester United’s Premier League campaign begins this weekend against Arsenal at Old Trafford but the youth side travelled to Tamworth on Wednesday evening to play the opening game of their National League Cup campaign.
Travis Binnion named a strong side and they started the clash extremely well, smashing the woodwork twice within 10 minutes and dominating possession.
The clash was abandoned before half-time, however, after Sekou Kone suffered an unfortunate head injury. He is stable but was taken to hospital as a precaution.
Despite the game ending early, the team selection still provided some hints towards the future of several young Reds for the upcoming campaign.
Amass and Collyer set for loan moves
When the team news came out for United U21’s clash, it was quickly noticed that Harry Amass was not involved despite spending pre-season with the youth side.
Toby Collyer, who was on the US tour with Ruben Amorim’s squad, was also not in the squad.
Steven Railston of the Manchester Evening News noted that these absences were because both youngsters are expecting loan departures before the transfer deadline.
Amass has attracted a lot of interest from clubs in the Championship and PSV Eindhoven are also looking at potentially signing him on loan.
There have been suggestions that Collyer could be used in a move involving Carlos Baleba but that is extremely unlikely.
Leon looks to be promoted to first-team
One more player who missed the clash with Tamworth was Diego Leon, who joined the club this summer from Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño.
The left-back was originally set to join the Under-21s set-up while training with the first-team.
But after appearing in three of United’s pre-season fixtures, it looks like the exciting talent is now going to be a regular in the first-team squad due to his U21s absence.
Reports have indicated that Leon has impressed at United so far and has also become a popular player in the dressing room.
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