Manchester United have suffered a multitude of injuries this season and it has only got worse as the campaign have progressed with plenty of names currently missing in action.
And the famed United academy has been a source of comfort for Ruben Amorim who has had to throw in academy stars into the mix as seen during United’s impressive 3-0 win against Leicester City on Sunday.
Harry Amass came on to make his first-team debut on his 18th birthday while Chido Obi was also introduced late on against the Foxes.
The full-back became the 253rd academy graduate to play for the United first team with Sunday’s squad also boasting Toby Collyer, who broke through this season.
Three Academy stars on show vs Foxes Ayden Heaven started his first Premier League game at the King Power Stadium and looked a class apart during his 51-minute stay out on the pitch before succumbing to an injury.
As revealed by the club’s official website, the Red Devils rank second among English top-flight clubs for awarding minutes to teen stars this term.
The 20-time English league champions have played teen starlets for 2,129 minutes while Tottenham Hotspur, who have been equally ravaged by injuries, lead the way with 2,839 minutes.
The bulk of those 2,129 minutes have been shared between Kobbie Mainoo and Leny Yoro, both of who are currently sidelined which just goes to show how much of a difficult situation the Portuguese tactician is having to deal with.
United 2nd in the list The minutes could be set to increase given the extensive injury list. In fact, it could have increased significantly if Andre Onana had failed to pass a late fitness test.
Dermot Mee and Elyh Harrison were on the bench given Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton’s absence and could have started in between the sticks.
Last season, the three-time European winners finished on top of the same list with Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho leading the way in terms of minutes.
High-flying Bournemouth are third in the list, a mammoth 437 minutes behind. Southampton, Arsenal and Brighton round off the top six.
MOST MINUTES GIVEN TO TEENAGERS
Tottenham Hotspur – 2,839 (7 players)
UNITED – 2,129 (5)
Bournemouth – 1,692 (3)
Southampton – 1,566 (2)
Arsenal – 1,367 (2)
Brighton – 1,279 (2)
Feature image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
