As expected, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did a lot of squad rotation for the season finale, and he decided to go with a very young lineup. Promising forward Mason Greenwood, winner of the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award (best player in the club’s youth teams), will make his first senior team start at home against Cardiff City today.
It’s the first starting assignment of likely many to come, and just his third competitive appearance after coming off the bench twice in 2019. Take a look at United’s official Twitter account, which boasts of all the academy products in the first XI on the pitch today. Behold the list of available substitutes as well.
? Our final starting XI of the season includes a front 6?? of #MUAcademy graduates…
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 12, 2019
Yes, Angel Gomes is in the team again, and he’s a highly rated rated youngster of which many big things are definitely expected. Also, midfielder James Garner is in the squad, and should he see action today, it would be just the second time ever with the senior team. On February 27, he made his first-team debut, coming on as a 90th-minute substitute for Fred in a 3–1 Premier League win at Crystal Palace.
It’s also interesting that Tahith Chong is missing, while Ander Herrera is absent from what would have been his final game with the squad. Club captain Antonio Valencia, who is also expected to depart, only appears on the bench, not in the starting lineup.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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