Rising United Duo Eye First-Team Breakthrough

Rising United Duo Eye First-Team Breakthrough

Manchester United\'s teenage duo Harry Amass and Radik Vitik are undergoing a thorough internal evaluation as they eye a move into the senior squad for the next season.

According to The Sun on Thursday, Amass, aged 18, is currently on loan with Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship, while goalkeeper Vitik, 22, is enjoying a productive spell with Bristol City in the same division, starting regularly for his loan club.

United believe players who prove themselves in the Championship have a real chance to graduate to the first team once their loans finish.

Amass, who made his Manchester United debut in March last year against Leicester City, has started 11 games for Sheffield Wednesday since the move on the final day of the summer window, becoming a key figure on the left flank and drawing praise from both sets of coaches.

Vitik has started 15 matches for Bristol City so far and sits joint third in the Championship\'s list of clean sheets. Although he has not yet featured for United\'s first team, he impressed in a friendly against Rosenborg during the previous pre-season.

United\'s aim is to strengthen the goalkeeping department, especially with the likelihood of parting ways with backup Altay Bayındır next season due to mistakes, and with veteran Tom Heaton nearing forty. Therefore, if Vitik is not ready for the first team, the club may consider selling him while his value is rising.

In recent times United have begun adding buy-back clauses and future sale percentages in academy deals to secure further future profits from players who may develop later.

Amass did not feature in pre-season preparations last summer, with the club preferring to wait for a full-year loan. Sheffield Wednesday sit bottom of the Championship after a 12-point deduction for financial administration issues.

Nevertheless, Amass continues to perform strongly, earning wide praise as United look to bolster the left side next summer.

Other issues persist in that position, notably after January arrival Patrik Dorgo failed to persuade the coaching staff, while Spanish teenager Diego Leon, 18, who joined in the summer, is with the Under-21s and has yet to break into the first team.

United does not expect to recall Amass or Vitik in the winter window, preferring they continue to develop through regular game time.

Amass joined United from Watford\'s academy in 2023 at the age of 16, and remained on the bench for 16 matches before earning his first chance under manager Ruben Amorim. He shone during the club\'s US tour in 2024, though former manager Erik ten Hag felt at the time that he was not yet ready for first-team action.

Amass won Manchester United\'s Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award last season and is under contract to 2027, the same duration as Vitik\'s deal.

Moreover, Amorim believes Sir Jim Ratcliffe\'s public endorsement has had a major calming effect on the club this season.

As Ratcliffe\'s co-owner at Old Trafford stated during the international break in October, the Portuguese coach should be judged after three years, not months, and the project requires patience and consistency.

Although Amorim has only completed about one year of that period—the anniversary of his first match in charge arrives on Monday—the strong comments from Ratcliffe have helped quiet the atmosphere at the club, especially after the 3-1 loss to Brentford in late September.

Since that defeat, the team has rallied, winning three games and drawing two, giving Amorim some room to stabilise his squad.

Amorim says Ratcliffe\'s words have played a pivotal role in calming the club, telling The Sun that the moment Jim spoke changed the atmosphere and the momentum for the team, and that the impact extended beyond his own coaching approach, which was crucial for everyone involved.

He added that the effect was huge not only on his work but on the way people view the club\'s actions, which was essential for the broader project.

And for a touch of levity to end on a lighter note: punchline one, patience is United\'s new striker; it keeps finding the back of the net on the nerves scoreboard. Punchline two, if these youngsters keep developing, United may need a bigger loan-fee vault than their trophy cabinet. Stay tuned.