Man Utd in Heaven! Young stars PROVE Amorim should be trusted with future

Suraj Radia

• 13 Mar 2025 17:35 CDT
• 3 min read

Analysis

Manchester United showed a rare glimpse of the vision under Ruben Amorim after progressing to the next round of the Europa League thanks to the performances of some of their new young talent.

United triumphed at Old Trafford with a 4-1 win the last-16 second leg against Real Sociedad with Bruno Fernandes scoring his second hat-trick for the club before Diogo Dalot’s late strike.

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While Fernandes will deservedly grab the headlines, two of United’s best performers across the 90 minutes were January signings Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu, with the young duo silencing the creative Takefusa Kubo on Sociedad’s right flank.

Dorgu provided some much-needed athleticism on United’s left side and won the free-kick that saw Jon Aramburu given a straight red-card in the second half and constantly offered a threat in attack.

Heaven, meanwhile, was making his first ever professional start, having joined for a nominal fee in January from Arsenal and the 18-year-old looked assured and professional in defence.

With United desperate to find hope for the future, the performances of their young stars will offer optimism that Amorim’s side are moving in the right direction with a platform to work from going into the summer transfer window.

Heaven could be the answer to Man Utd transfer conundrum

Heaven came on at half-time during United’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal last weekend and he was handed a start over Victor Lindelof, with Amorim claiming pre-match that the youngster had earned his position due to his performances.

The teenager will likely keep his place in United’s defence for the game against Leicester this weekend and there will be renewed belief that Heaven’s emergence could soften the need to splash out on a left-sided centre-back in the summer.

With United operating under tight constraints in the transfer market, pursuing a top target like Jarrad Branthwaite could cost as much as €80 million, all while also needing a striker, a midfielder and a right-back among other positions.

Whatever conclusion United come to, they will also be encouraged by the performances of Dorgu since his €30m move from Lecce in January, giving confidence that Amorim has the right vision with his targets and philosophy for the squad.

Although there are still some persisting issues such as Rasmus Hojlund extending his barren run to 21 games without a goal, any positivity around Old Trafford must be built on and United will hope that their new young stars can provide the catalyst to success in the future.