Manchester United’s U19 side were in UEFA Youth League action on Thursday against Sabah with JJ Gabriel stealing all the headlines, but one youngster is continuing to reinvent himself in a new role.
The summer transfer window saw Manchester United oversee a culling of the academy, both through loans and permanent exits, with Adam Lawrence’s U21 options at striker incredibly slim.
But United have a new option emerging, surprisingly.
Amir Ibragimov is now emerging as an exciting number nine for Manchester United
With United’s youth striker ranks slim, Amir Ibragimov has this season been transformed into a number nine.
Ethan Wheatley has been loaned to Lincoln City in the Championship, while Chido Obi has joined Willem II on loan for the season in the Eredivisie.
Gabriele Biancheri has also left permanently for FC Wacker Innsbruck in Austria, leaving a real shortage up top within the academy ranks.
Up steps Ibragimov, with the Russian international transforming his game once again after making a similar change to play central midfield last season.
Ibragimov was compared with Bryan Robson in midfield, and now he’s thriving as a lethal number nine and looking the part while doing so.
In his past two games playing the role, Ibragimov has two goals and an assist, with his finish against Sabah really instinctive and tidy, latching onto a loose cross to finish nicely in a tight space.
This was in some ways reminiscent of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, scoring from tight areas, with instinctive finishes that few could pull off, and it sets him apart as a number nine. Despite being small in stature, Ibragimov makes up for it by being aggressive on the pitch, tenacious, intense, and above all he has superb technical quality, which allows him to do a job anywhere on the pitch.
Ibragimov needs to specialise in a position for Manchester United
As exciting as Ibragimov is as a footballer, and as talented as he is, there is a concern that he isn’t being viewed as a natural in any position.
From the wing, to attacking midfield, to central midfield, and now he is a number nine. Ibragimov has been good in every position and looked great as a midfielder all last season, but clearly, he wasn’t going to get much football as a midfielder.
The Dagestan-born wonderkid would have had Jim Thwaites, the Fletcher twins, Cristian Orozco, and others ahead of him, and so Lawrence has found him a new role up front. Ibragimov has again excelled here, but at this stage, he needs to either become a number nine permanently or get a loan somewhere he can play his favoured role.
It would be a shame to waste Ibragimov’s ability, and United should be looking to help him settle on a position. If that is as a striker, then he has shown he can be decent in the role, but he needs serious work to ever be a first-team option.
The shades of Solskjaer are there, he just has a long way to go.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/OQyn3BW