Amorim to hand 16-year-old Man Utd wonderkid his debut

Tom Weber

• Updated: 24 Nov 2024 12:19 GMT
• 3 min read

Ruben Amorim is set to include Godwill Kukonki in his first-ever Manchester United matchday squad.

The Portuguese tactician is gearing up for his Man Utd debut against Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon. Amorim faces the tall task of rectifying the club's worst-ever start to a Premier League season.

It will be interesting to see how Amorim lines up his side against the Tractor Boys. The 39-year-old has already confirmed that he will stick with his favoured 3-4-3 formation, which is a completely unknown system to the Red Devils players.

READ MORE: How Man Utd will line up under Ruben Amorim

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding which players will stand to benefit from this new tactical setup and it seems that there is already one unexpected beneficiary. According to Academy Scoop and Fabrizio Romano, 16-year-old Godwill Kukonki is expected to make the squad for Ipswich.

Amorim impressed with Kukonki

During the international break, Amorim promoted U18 centre-back Kukonki to make up the numbers for his first training session and he evidently liked what he saw from the teenager.

Due to his system requiring three nominal centre-backs, Amorim may have to get creative in light of the club's injury problems in that department.

READ MORE: Man Utd having 'serious doubt's about new signing

The likes of Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro and Victor Lindelof are all doubts for Ipswich, while Harry Maguire is expected to be fit again in December.

This means that Kukonki could be handed his senior debut by the head coach either against Ipswich or in a subsequent fixture, with the youngster already emerging as one of the big winners of the new regime.

It is not a surprise to see the young defender in and around the first team as he is one of the most highly-rated prospects at Carrington, but he was not expected to be involved so soon.