Two main themes ran through Manchester United's last season: one was good and one was bad. Erik ten Hag's team had a lot of injuries from the start, and it would get worse all the way to the end.
They had more injured players than any other Premier League team, which meant the coach had to make do with the few players he had each week.
The fact that young players were coming up was a good thing. Alejandro Garnacho built on his breakout season to become the team's most reliable scorer, and Kobbie Mainoo brought new life to the middle of the field.
Amad Diallo had an exciting end to the season, and Ethan Wheatley then became the club's 250th player from the school to make his debut.
The same thing will likely happen again this season. Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro have already been out for a long time because of injuries, and four players are questionable for Saturday's Community Shield match against Manchester City.
Another teenager is ready to step up and try to make the first team to fill the spot. Put your hand up, Harry Amass.
The left-back has come a long way since United bought him from Watford last year. He was the standout player on United's poor pre-season tour of the US. He was even surprised by Amass's steady play for the team, but the 17-year-old proved he was ready to step up...
Amass grew up in London and joined the Watford school when he was nine. Former United winger Ashley Young and Jadon Sancho are both academy graduates.
People at Watford thought he was the smartest kid there, and England's youth teachers soon took notice. In 2022, he played for the Under-15 team. Since then, he has played at the U16 and U17 fields.
When Amass was 15, Slaven Bilic, Watford's first-team coach, put him on the bench for an FA Cup third-round match against Reading in January 2023. This was the first time people outside of Watford's school heard of him. Even though he didn't play, Amass had already made a name for himself. Watford lost 2-0.
Soon, the big teams started to pay attention. Chelsea and United both started trying to sign him. United finally won the battle and signed him in August 2023. Their scout in South England, Stephen Ajewole, suggested he be signed.
Nick Cox, head of the academy, and Luke Fedorenko, head of academy recruitment, made the deal official.
Amass did well in the U18s and was quickly moved up to the U21s. He started working with United's first team in January when he was still 16 years old. His first game on the bench was a Premier League game against Liverpool in April, a month after he turned 17. He was in six Premier League matchday teams until the end of the season and the one for the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry, but he never played.
Amass played his first game for the United first team in the second half of their first pre-season friendly of the summer against Rosenborg.
The team lost 1-0, and Ten Hag got very angry, but Amass played again in the 2-0 win over Rangers and then started the game against Arsenal in Los Angeles.
In United's 3-2 win over Real Betis, he set up Amad's goal and was one of their best players. He also played well against Liverpool, even though United lost badly 3-0. It was a tough matchup against Mohamed Salah, but he did a great job staying on top of Liverpool's star player.
Even though Amass is only a teenager, he is already known as a tough tackler who isn't afraid to show anger. During the game against Betis, he made some hard tackles on Hector Bellerin and Rodri. He also used his size to hold Salah down.
"You’ve just got to show your aggressive side – you might be young, smaller than the opponent, but you have to show you are aggressive and don’t back down," he stated.
The 17-year-old has also shown he can get forward and make things happen in the final third by often coming in from the left wing to join the attack.
There aren't as many left-footed left-backs in football these days because of the reversed winger. This makes it harder for players to drop from the left wing to the left back, which is a common move.
Amass is very good with his left foot but not so good with his right. This could be a problem if he needs to flip and drop into midfield, which full-backs are being asked to do more and more.
He also doesn't have any top-level training, which makes him understandably raw. Ten Hag added:
"He needs to catch up and develop some of the skills needed to play for Manchester United when we are competing for the highest position in the league."
Amass's fast growth reminds me of Luke Shaw, who played his first game for Southampton when he was 17 and signed with United when he was 18.
His body is much like an England player's, and he is known for his attacking and defending skills.
Even if Shaw wasn't fit, Amass couldn't have asked for a better role model at United. "I think I can learn many things from him," said he. "For the past five years, I think he's been one of the best left-backs in the Premier League." I just talk to him every day and ask him little things.
Ten Hag has said that he would like Amass to get more practice in training before putting him in many games. "We had it with Kobbie last season, but he's not that far away now," he said. But if we train and teach him well, he might be there in three months.
But Amass is the only United left-back who can play against City in the Community Shield. Ten Hag said that Shaw is "a question mark," Tyrell Malacia won't return from his serious knee injury until October.
Thus, Amass will have a part to play at Wembley, and he is expected to start games when the Premier League season starts next week. After seeing how well Garnacho and Mainoo did when they were put in the spotlight, Amass wants to do the same.
"We’ll see what happens when Luke and Tyrell come back, but I intend to play first-team football at this club," he added. "If the opportunity comes, I’ve got to take it with both hands, it could change my career."
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