This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Mason Greenwood may have understandably stolen all the headlines after scoring his first competitive goal for Manchester United on Thursday night, but one man who impressed just as much was Angel Gomes.
The pint-sized midfielder was another academy prospect given a chance to shine against FC Astana by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and he certainly did not disappoint. The 19-year-old operated in the number ten role for the Red Devils, and whilst it wasn’t a scintillating display, there were more than enough glimpses of the sizeable potential he possesses.
As part of a youthful looking front four, including the likes of Greenwood, Tahith Chong and Marcus Rashford, Gomes registered the most amount of touches of them all. The 5 foot 3 prospect always looked comfortable on the ball, and never shied away from trying to provide an option for his teammates in difficult positions.
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Being so short in stature, Gomes is always likely to be a difficult player for opponents to stop. His low centre of gravity coupled with his incredibly quick feet make him a defender’s nightmare, and out of the three fouls he won, one of them led to a free-kick in a dangerous area that his side weren’t able to convert.
His ten crosses were a game-high, and proved how assured he was at drifting wide and creating space for his teammates. Despite fading out of the game in the second-half, and subsequently being taken off in the 67th minute, the 19-year-old showed he is a young talent to more than keep an eye on.
Greenwood may be the academy product hogging all the limelight now, but it may not be too long before Gomes is similarly hailed too.
