“Huge chance” Manchester United Academy star makes debut soon, Rúben Amorim says he’s “ready”

Rúben Amorim has been touted to hand an Academy star his Manchester United debut in the coming weeks as the club prepare for a packed schedule across the remainder of January.

Manchester United have started 2025 with encouraging signs after ending 2024 on a low, suffering four straight defeats across all competitions.

Rúben Amorim’s side showed their determination with a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield. They followed up with a dramatic FA Cup win over Arsenal, where Altay Bayındır’s penalty shootout heroics secured their place in the next round.

Currently sitting 13th in the Premier League, United are set to face bottom-of-the-table Southampton on Thursday evening at Old Trafford. This match kicks off a vital three-game home stretch, offering a chance to build much-needed momentum.

With two weeks of full training under their belts, fans are hopeful that the team will begin to find consistency and develop a clearer identity in the weeks ahead.

Kukonki tipped for United debut

With the fixtures against Liverpool and Arsenal now in the past, United have five games left in January across the Premier League and Europa League.

Although Amorim has been able to field similar sides so far in 2025, the demand on his squad will double over the next few weeks, so multiple changes are expected.

Amid this, 16-year-old Godwill Kukonki has been tipped to make his debut for United, having already impressed Amorim across the last few months in training.

“United have 4 games in 10 days, starting tomorrow vs Southampton,” United Academy expert mufcacademy91 wrote on X.

“There really is a huge chance Godwill Kukonki could make his debut in one of these games as well as some decent minutes/ a start for Collyer. Looking forward to what happens in all 4. Hopefully Kukonki gets his debut on Thursday though.”

Kukonki can grow into a perfect player for Amorim

Standing at 6 feet and 5 inches, Kukonki has all the attributes to grow into a centre-back that Amorim will no doubt want to utilise in the future.

United only have one left-footed natural centre-back in their squad, Lisandro Martínez. Even then, there are questions surrounding the Argentinian international’s long-term place in the side due to his height.

With Kukonki a left-footed, tall defender who is good with his feet when needed, Amorim will no doubt be looking at him for a solid option for the future and can embed his philosophy in Kukonki early on for a debut, with the boss admitting he feels Kukonki is ready.

“He’s 16, but he impressed me a lot, so it’s also a sign to the youth players that they can be here,” Amorim said of Kukonki last month.

“If something happened with the first-team squad, they have to step up and I think he’s ready, he’s very adult to handle the demands of the Premier League.”

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