Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is expected to field teenage attacker Omari Forson as part of a front-three alongside Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho against Fulham today (Saturday), with in-form Rasmus Hojlund out injured. Here, Express Sport delves deeper into the story of United's highly-rated academy product set to be given a shot at the big time...
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Style of play
It is not clear exactly where in the front-three Forson will line up, but his prowess in the youth ranks has been built on exciting performances out wide or as an attacking midfielder.
The 19-year-old doesn't fit into the traditional winger mould of staying out wide with chalk on his boots, but rather looks to drift inside and knit together combinations with team-mates using his technical gifts.
As Forson transitions out of academy football and towards the senior ranks, The Athletic claim that Ten Hag and his coaching staff have noted an improvement in his physical power and athleticism over the past few months.
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Academy pedigree
Born in Hammersmith, Forson's first academy experience came with West Ham before moving from east to north London and joining Tottenham. United snapped him up from Spurs in 2019 and offered him a scholarship the following year, successfully fending off interest from Arsenal in the process.
Forson played alongside Garnacho in the side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2022. The teenager has been amongst the goals playing for the Red Devils' various youth and reserve ranks this campaign, bagging three in four Premier League 2 games, and four in four across the UEFA Youth League and EFL Trophy.
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Pre-season learning curve
Forson's first major vote of confidence from Ten Hag came when he was included in pre-season tours of Norway and the United States last summer. However, the youngster was subbed off in the first-half of a game against Borussia Dortmund following a scuffle with Karim Adeyemi which could have seen him sent off.
"When there is a VAR, he gets sent off," said Ten Hag after the match. "He played a good game and the opponent gets annoyed with him so that is a learning [curve] but don’t take it into your own hands."
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Mainoo link-up
Forson will have been chomping at the bit for a shot at the first team while watching fellow academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo excel over the past few weeks. He certainly took his chance in a four-minute cameo against Wolves earlier this month, assisting Mainoo's dramatic stoppage-time winner.
There are plenty of parallels between the pair, who both represent England at youth level but are eligible to play for Ghana. And just as Mainoo was lined up for a first-team spot for some time by Ten Hag, the Dutchman reportedly believes Forson is destined to follow a similar path.
