Rúben Amorim eyeing Manchester United Academy star since November, he’s the “only prospect” that stood out

Rúben Amorim has been reportedly eyeing one of Manchester United’s academy stars since November after he was the “only prospect” who stood out to him.

Some Manchester United fans have started calling for Rúben Amorim to start considering Academy players to fill the obvious gaps in his current squad.

The club had a history of using young Carrington players, having involved an Academy player in every single matchday first-team squad since October 1937, although this was almost broken when Kobbie Mainoo was the only graduate included in the win over Manchester City in December.

United have a number of exciting young talents rising through the ranks of late, and a recent shift in transfer policy has seen the club targeting stars of the future, with the likes of Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu joining in January.

There are also others such as Chido Obi-Martin and Godwill Kukonki who are starting to knock on the door of the first team after performing well across the U18s.

Amorim impressed with Kukonki since November

According to the Manchester Evening News, Amorim has been keeping an eye on 16-year-old centre-back Kukonki since November, when he initially took over.

The new head coach assessed United’s academy players when he first took charge of the side, and Kukonki was the “only prospect” who stood out to him, states the report.

Although the central defender is yet to make his debut for the club, he has been involved in multiple first-team squads since he impressed Amorim and has been tipped to be a potential replacement for Lisandro Martínez as Kukonki is also left-footed.

“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 after including him in his first United matchday squad.

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

Kukonki attracting international interest

The young defender is yet to be called up to an English youth squad, but this has not stopped other countries from taking notice.

Read More: Unai Emery breaks silence on “excellent” Marcus Rashford and sends Ruben Amorim message

The Manchester Evening News report states that DR Congo have been circling the player to potentially represent them, and have made a proposal to the player.

Although Kukonki was born in England, his family history would allow him to represent the African country, with the route offering him a quicker pathway to senior international football.

United also recently chose to sign left-footed centre-back Ayden Heaven from Arsenal, with the 18-year-old expected to compete with Kukonki for a place in Amorim’s squad over the coming seasons.

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 released every Wednesday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.