16-year-old Godwill Kukonki has been included in the Manchester United squad for tonight’s Premier League clash against Arsenal.
Kukonki trained with the senior squad in one of Ruben Amorim’s first sessions at Carrington and travelled with the squad down to Ipswich for his first game in charge in November.
While he did not make the bench that day, he would appear to have left an impression on the Portuguese coach, making the bench for tonight’s clash at the Emirates.
United are short of left-sided options at the back with Lisandro Martinez suspended. Luke Shaw would have been expected to slot into that role on the left of the back three but a fresh injury blow has sidelined the England international.
Who is Godwill Kukonki?
Kukonki is a left-footed centre-half who has already shown to be a versatile option across the backline, also filling in at left-back.
While he recently made the Under-21s squad, the teenager has shone for the Under-18s this term, playing eight out of nine games for a side still to drop points in the league this term having also kept seven clean sheets in that run.
Given his versatility and physical attributes, there have been early comparisons with Manchester City star Josko Gvardiol.
Despite his tender years, Kukonki stands at a towering 6ft 5ins. Being a natural left-footer, he is an interesting option Amorim may consider going forward in that back three system with Martinez the only option fitting that particular bill at the moment.
Shaw has slotted into that role three times off the bench under the new manager but more injury problems mean he is not currently an option.
Will Godwill Kukonki play against Arsenal?
Kukonki is in the squad tonight and it would certainly be some statement if Amorim were to throw him in.
During his years at Sporting, Amorim handed debuts to nine teenagers, including Geovany Quenda in September with the 17-year-old swiftly becoming an important first-team player.
‘You need young guys, guys from the Academy for everything,’ Amorim told a press conference this week when asked how he intends to use United’s young talent at his disposal.
‘To bring that history to the club…. because they feel the club in a different way. But also because you have all these rules about financial fair play, you have all these players from our academy, is so much different from the players we bought and sell. Everything is connected, I will try help all the players, especially the young ones.’
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