Mejbri may not be a Reds sideshow for much longer
WITH Bayern Munich 5-0 up and cruising against Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday evening, Hansi Flick turned to his bench and introduced his final two substitutes with 15 minutes to go.
On came 19-year-olds Joshua
Zirkzee, who already has brief first-team involvement this season, and Oliver Batista Meier, who was making his Bayern debut.
Both teenagers benefited from a Bundesliga rule change in football’s post-coronavirus landscape, allowing clubs to make five substitutes instead of three.
Bayern had already made three changes against Dusseldorf but, with nine players on the bench instead of seven, clubs have the opportunity to include youngsters and even give them some game time if the scenario suits.
There can still only be three interruptions to a game for substitutions to be made, but almost every Bundesliga team is using double subs to allow all five replacements to be made.
The Premier League is yet to confirm it is following suit by allowing five subs and increasing the number of substitutes who can be named in a squad, but it’s expected they will follow Germany’s lead in doing so.
How clubs approach the rule change will be fascinating to see and those with the deepest squads stand to benefit, but there is also a real chance to accelerate the development of your most promising youngsters, just as Bayern have done in the Bundesliga. This might be particularly relevant for United, who look like they’re close to striking gold with the current crop emerging from Carrington. Brandon Williams, 19, and Mason Greenwood, 18, have both emerged into the first-team squad this season and are already regular fixtures in a matchday squad, but an increase in the number of substitutes that can be made could see more academy prospects follow
The next two months certainly feel like an apt time to be giving youngsters a chance
Tyrone Marshall
them. The next two months certainly feel like an apt time to be giving youngsters a chance.
The increase to five subs would make that easier while the circumstances of empty stadiums could be beneficial too, easing the pressure on teenage debutants who would normally be emerging into the spotlight with the eyes of 76,000 fans at Old Trafford on them.
In United’s case James Garner could find himself more heavily involved, with the 19-year-old yet to really make a consistent breakthrough at first-team level. It could also open more doors for 20-yearold Tahith Chong, fresh from the new contract he signed in March.
But United could also be bold and hand first-team squad places to some of their promising youngsters further down the academy chain.
The Under-23s and Under-18s were both enjoying excellent seasons until the campaign was suspended.
The pick of the bunch is probably 17-year-old Hannibal Mejbri, signed from Monaco for a fee that could rise to 10m euros last summer. The central midfield has shone in United’s progress to the FA Youth Cup semi-finals and is in line for a first-team squad role next season.
Hopes are high for Mejbri, taunted as a Sideshow Bob lookalike by Leeds fans at Old Trafford in a Youth Cup tie earlier this season.
The final nine Premier League games, played in a congested calendar with the option to make more substitutes, might be an ideal time to allow the France youth international to dip his toe into the water of first-team football.