Why Harry Amass is absent from Manchester United squad to face Man City in Community Shield

Manchester United youngster Harry Amass was not included in Erik ten Hag’s matchday squad for the Community Shield against Manchester City.

Amass, 17, made a brilliant impression during the pre-season tour of America and looked likely to play a part at Wembley due to the absences of Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.

The United left-back even travelled with the squad to the capital but was not even named on the bench as Ten Hag opted to start Lisandro Martínez on the left side of defence.

Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire will operate through the middle, with Diogo Dalot on the right with licence to drift forward.

Mason Mount and Casemiro are joined by Kobbie Mainoo in the midfield, with the FA Cup final Man of the Match making his first appearance for the club since that epic Wembley victory in May.

Bruno Fernandes also returns to the lineup to join Marcus Rashford and Amad Diallo in the attacking positions. New signing Joshua Zirkzee is on the bench.

Amass being left out of the squad was a shock. Despite his age, the teenager really impressed in pre-season, and there are no natural defenders on the United bench.

UtdDistrict understands that the 17-year-old is at Wembley, and he is with the squad warming up, which suggests that he will continue to get the experience around the squad pre-match but is not considered quite ready to play for the first-team in competitive fixtures.

The United boss previously suggested that while Amass was impressive during pre-season, it might take him a little while to be fully prepared for the nature of first-team football.

“If we train him well, if we coach him well, then, in three months, it’s possible that he can be on that point,” Ten Hag explained during the summer.

“But, in this moment, he needs to catch up and he has to develop some skills already to play for Manchester United, competing for the highest positions in the league.

“But, with big talent, it can go up very quickly and that is very interesting to see if he is capable of doing this.”

United’s clash against City in the Community Shield kicks off at 15:00 BST, with the game being shown live on Sky Sports.