Man Utd boss Ten Hag promotes three exciting youngsters to first-team training

Erik ten Hag has called up three promising Manchester United youngsters to first-team training ahead of the Red Devils' Premier League clash against Aston Villa on Saturday. 16-year-old left-back Harry Amass, 20-year-old defensive midfielder Toby Collyer and 19-year-old left winger Sam Mather were put through their paces with the rest of the first-team squad at the Trafford Training Centre on Wednesday.

It is unclear whether Ten Hag intends to include any of them in his matchday squad or whether he is simply giving them a taste of the intensity required to find a place in the senior set-up. But what is clear is that all three have been in impressive form as of late.

Amass has been a regular starter for Man Utd's under-18s this season and was one of the standout performers during their 4-2 win over Arsenal in the Premier League Cup quarter-final last weekend. United have been plagued by injuries at left-back this season with Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia both spending significant stints on the sidelines.

Shaw recently returned to the fold but Malacia remains out injured so there could be a spot for Amass to fill in the Dutchman's absence. Mather, an FA Youth Cup winner in 2022, recently scored four goals for the under-21s during a 4-2 win over Norwich City.

He recently joined Rochdale on loan until the end of the season but is allowed to train at Man Utd as part of the terms of his agreement. Carrington academy team-mate Sam Murray has also moved to the Crown Oil Arena to help the Greater Manchester side in their bid to return to League football.

Collyer, who moved from Brighton in 2022, was included in the first team's pre-season squad to face Leeds United in Oslo, Norway but did not make it onto the pitch. He would finally make his debut during a 3-1 loss to Wrexham in San Diego, California.

Collyer has trained with the first-team squad on multiple occasions, however, he has yet to play in a competitive senior game. The young starlet comes highly rated and is expected to make his competitive debut sooner rather than later.

Coach Mark Beard, who worked with Collyer in Brighton's academy, showered him with praise during an interview with Sussex Live, highlighting his excellent attitude both on and off the pitch. "Even when he [Collyer] was a U15, he trained with us [the U8s] a lot," he said.

"Even though he didn't play a great deal for the U16s, he still trained. You could see he was going to be a top-class player. He is a pleasure to coach. He is so low maintenance. What I mean by that is you don't know he is there. He gets on with his job.

"He regularly put in displays of 8 out of 10 at the least. He had the best running stats, ran 13 kilometres a game, breaks things up. He is so unassuming; he gets on with his job. You want 11 of these types of players in the team. You know what you're going to get in training, he works hard, he wants to improve, he's intelligent. He's a good all-round kid."