One Manchester United star impressed during a cameo for the Under-21s and could be sent out on loan in the January transfer window.
After missing out on European football last season, Manchester United entered the new campaign with just three competitions on their schedule.
Their surprise second-round exit from the Carabao Cup now means Rúben Amorim’s side have only Premier League matches to contend with until their FA Cup journey begins in early 2026.
This has allowed the Reds to concentrate fully on the league, but it has also drastically reduced opportunities for squad players to earn minutes.
The lack of rotation has left the likes of Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee frustrated, though both are expected to get more chances as the campaign unfolds.
However, there is another promising talent whose development depends on regular football, and that seems unlikely to happen at Old Trafford this season.
United star ‘made it look easy’ for U21s amid loan decision
Ayden Heaven has only made two appearances off the bench for United so far this season and it was decided that he would play for the Under-21s on Tuesday evening.
Despite Travis Binnion’s side losing against Solihull Moors, Heaven produced a solid performance, and ‘made it look easy’, as one fan put it.
His standout moment came as he blocked a certain goal off the line after a mistake by United at the back. He also looked comfortable on the ball all evening.
That display only made it even clearer than Heaven is beyond academy football and needs to be playing at first-team level, but the return of Lisandro Martínez and the limited amount of football makes that unlikely at Old Trafford this season.
Heaven needs to head out on loan and that seems to be something the club is considering. According to MailSport, the defender’s situation will be assessed ahead of the January window.
United squad problems no surprise
It is unsurprising that United are having troubles giving enough minutes to squad players this term after failing to qualify for Europe.
The main problem is that the summer clear-out was not enough. The only players who left were in the ‘bomb squad’ and it was expected they would depart.
United were given the perfect opportunity to sell more players who are clearly not good enough, and perhaps that would have made space for academy talents to get rotation minutes.
Heaven has all of the attributes to be a useful player for United in the future but it is clear that his best course of action for the rest of the season is to go on a meaningful loan spell.
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