Man Utd’s Luke Shaw regen is forcing his way into the dream breakthrough season

Manchester United have always prided themselves on making use of their youth talent through the good and bad, but it feels like ‘La Carrington’ is stronger than ever right now.

Fans of the Red Devils are never shy to hype up a talent from their famed academy and while we have the utmost respect for their commitment to the badge and winning bragging rights, it can also blow up in their faces.

And it does. A lot.

We’re not in the business of digging out individuals, but pick out any era from United’s history and you can play bingo with hyped up academy flops, as recently as Louis van Gaal and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenures, right back to the early days of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign.

Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo have laid down the foundations for a new era of academy-led domination, but it’s now a question of who’s good enough to step up after them and follow them into battle.

Enter Harry Amass – a name you’ve probably heard a little too often in 2024, without really knowing why. But there’s good reason.

Signing for United from Watford in 2023, the London-born left-back has been honing his craft in United’s youth ranks since making the move up north, but has very quickly transcended age groups.

Spending a good chunk of the 2023-24 campaign training with the first team and operating around Erik ten Hag, the dynamic full-back was born a few months before Manchester United won the 2006-07 Premier League title, which puts into perspective just how sickeningly talented he is.

Typically we’d use the word ‘potential’ to describe a young baller, but again Amass has transcended that. Describing him on potential would be a disservice, as he’s proving in pre-season that he’s more than ready for the senior step-up right now.

He’s already earned rave reviews for his first season in United’s under-18 side and in doing so earned a spot on the Red Devils’ pre-season tour to the United States. Amass has since started against both Arsenal and Real Betis, looking a natural replacement for Luke Shaw on profile alone.

A technical demon, Amass does his best work bursting forward with the ball, but crucially with purpose.

With the vision to pick out a pass or make a run that can help out his winger, his reading of the game in front of him is already razor sharp – and that technical ability we mentioned allows him to execute consistently.

That was on display against Real Betis in a thrilling 3-2 friendly victory, with Amass playing a brilliant game which was marked by a brilliant assist for Amad’s impressive finish.

🚨🎥 – AMAD GOAL AMASS ASSIST THIS IS SPECIAL! pic.twitter.com/xxJ7vguCoY

— Frank🧠🇳🇱 (fan) (@TenHagEra) August 1, 2024

READ NEXT: Chido Obi Martin is a Man Utd-bound wonderkid – & they’ve nabbed him from Arsenal

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Man Utd’s 25 most expensive sales in history?

A combination so lethal, we fear for poor @TenHagEra’s heart rate and keyboard condition.

The assist is merely a snippet of an impressive wider display and just one pre-season outing which doesn’t entirely do Amass justice, but it’s a moment of brilliance which perfectly encapsulates what he – and the United DNA – is all about.

Getting a bit of luck as the ball ricochets back into his path, Amass’ fearlessness and desire to express himself by zapping Betis’ two right-sided players – one of whom was Hector Bellerin – are rewarded with that fortune.

He then bursts into the space ahead of him before lazering a wicked cross into the box, which Amad finishes with extreme composure.

If one kind of goal could sum up United as a club, it’s that. And that’s exactly why we’re so confident that the teenager can and will play a crucial part in a breakthrough campaign this season.

Amass is far from the finished product, but that raw ability and hunger is precisely what you want in a youth star with it all to prove.

And at United, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. He himself told reporters exactly that after the game: “If you’re good enough, age doesn’t matter. It’s what United stands for.”

An injection of hunger is never something to shy away from, but he combines it with an ability that should see him push Shaw and Tyrell Malacia all the way in 2024-25.

Don’t sleep on Amass or La Carrington – the show is just getting on the road.

By Mitch Wilks