Ruben Amorim continues to show faith in Manchester United’s youth this season.
It was one of the many reasons that Ineos wanted to hire Ruben Amorim to replace Erik ten Hag in November.
Amorim gave 27 debuts to youngsters during his time at Sporting Lisbon, and he has already brought through a handful of exciting young prospects at Old Trafford.
Manchester United suffered a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon, but one shining light in the performance was that 18-year-old Harry Amass was given his first Premier League start.
Harry Amass impresses for Man United vs Newcastle
Amorim made five changes to the side that drew 2-2 with Lyon in the Europa League with the big story being that Andre Onana was dropped from the squad following his two mistakes midweek.
Patrick Dorgu was named on the bench with Amorim keen to rest some of his key starters – it left a space for Harry Amass to start at left wing-back.
Amass made his Premier League debut against Leicester City in March, but he was trusted with a starting spot at St James’ Park.
Despite United’s disappointing defeat, Amass showed signs of promise in his performance.
| Minutes played | 55 |
| Touches | 31 |
| Passes completed | 79% (11/14) |
| Shots attempted | 1 |
| Dribbles completed | 50% (1/2) |
| Duels won | 50% (2/4) |
| Clearances | 3 |
Amass showed no signs of nerves on the ball, completing 11 passes and one dribble. He even took an ambitious shot at goal in the first half which went soaring over the bar.
Defensively, he was up against an in-form Jacob Murphy but he handled the Newcastle winger well and was not dribbled past once in his 55-minute display.
What Ruben Amorim said about Harry Amass display
Amass has ‘really impressed’ in the academy this season so it was only a matter of time until he was handed his first start.
After the full-time whistle, Amorim picked out Amass’ display as one of the few positives from United’s trip to Tyneside.
Amorim said: “I think he did quite well. He caught a player that is really fast, he debuted in maybe one of the hardest stadiums with one team that is in a good moment.
“I think he did really well. He needs to continue and we need to help all these young kids. To perform in a higher level.”
There were some concerns about Amass’ physicality earlier this season, which ended up holding back his development and pathway to the first team.
But at St James’ Park he proved he can handle senior football and frankly United’s performance levels dipped once he was replaced.
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