Manchester United are off on tour in the USA this summer and several youngsters have been snubbed from inclusion.
The Tour of America 2024 has begun for Manchester United’s 29-man squad which has landed in Los Angeles and now gear up to face Arsenal on Sunday morning.
The pre-season tour is a lucrative opportunity for Ineos, and with some blockbuster games, the stakes are high for Erik ten Hag’s squad.
In the squad several names have been excluded, with many being youngsters who could actually do with senior football, proving that on Wednesday night during a 3-1 win over Chester.
Here are six names who will consider themselves unlucky to have missed out and should now be looking for a loan move.
Ethan Ennis
First on the list is Ethan Ennis who surprised fans with his promising displays against both Rosenborg and Rangers. Particularly in Norway, he impressed in his 45-minute display with 100% of his passes completed and 4/5 dribbles.
Ennis also did well off the ball with four defensive actions, seven duels won and three recoveries. He will be gutted to have not made the trip to America.
At 19, Ennis has struggled with fitness in recent years which has severely impacted his development, and now he’s fit we should be looking to give him a loan in order to get some proper game-time.
Sonny Aljofree
Sonny Aljofree is in a similar boat to Ennis, being 19, he needs to experience first-team football. Aljofree was decent against Rosenborg in that friendly and then didn’t feature against Rangers, yet finds himself left out of the US Tour.
Aljofree should be loaned out this summer, with younger defenders like Louis Jackson likely to be taking his place in the youth sides.
Chances are he’d be sent to possibly a Stockport, similar to Will Fish a few years back.
Habeeb Ogunneye
Probably the name on this list who was most unlucky not to be heading Stateside this summer is Habeeb Ogunneye. It’s honestly quite surprising that he has been left out, given the absence of Diogo Dalot and also that he’s a player Erik ten Hag seems to rate.
Ogunneye was on the bench for United often last season, and during preseason he was solid in both games. Ogunneye turns 19 in November and the fact he was left out of the Chester game suggests that he could already be selected for a loan unless he’s injured.
Ethan Williams
Another player who’ll feel hard done by not being included on tour is Ethan Williams after his remarkable season last campaign for the U18s and U21s.
| Goals under-18s | Assists under-18s | Goals under-21s | Assists under-21s | Total Goals | Total Assists | Total Goal contributions | |
| Ethan Williams 2023/24 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 17 | 8 | 25 |
Williams was part of a dynamic duo with Ethan Wheatley which will make it even more frustrating that he’s been left out, just after signing a professional deal with the club.
With the impressive nature of his performances during 2023/24, there would surely be some lower-league clubs keen to take a chance on the 18-year-old.
Elyh Harrison
Next up, we have 18-year-old goalkeeper Elyh Harrison who was in the squad for the opening pre-season games but has been left home from the US Tour after Tom Heaton’s return.
Back with the academy, Harrison put in an impressive performance against Chester and proved he is ready to play senior football.
After this outing, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him receive interest from a club around Chester’s level with the National League North side admiring Harrison on their X account and the fans were also impressed with some of his stops.
Gabriele Biancheri
Finally, Gabriele Biancheri is the last name to make the list as he is another player who looks ready for first-team football, with little chance of getting minutes for United.
Biancheri was never in the senior squad this summer with Wheatley ahead of him in the pecking order. Biancheri bagged two goals against Chester in a display which like Harrison, showed he is ready to play senior football.
With no prospect of senior minutes, and possibly Chido Obi-Martin set to arrive and command academy minutes, it could be time for Biancheri to go out on loan to continue his promising development.
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