Thomas Hein
Jose Mourinho’s disliking of youth players doesn’t seem to go away. Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, who os one of the few bright sparks for Manchester United, was sent away on loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the start of this season.
The 19-year-old left-back could have solved a lot of problems for the Premier League club this season and would have been a good option for the cup games as well. However, the move away to the Wolves would ensure him a regular playing time. The more minutes he puts under the belt, the better his growth will be and will help him knock on the first team of Manchester United next season.
He has played twice for the Wolves this season and in his last game against Newcastle United, he was awarded the man of the match. The 19-year-old also finished the game with a rating of 8.52, astonishing to say the least.
The left-back didn’t have the greatest passing game as he only had a pass completion percentage of 59 but he certainly was great at winning aerial duels. Borthwick-Jackson won seven aerial duels in the tie with a success rate of 88%.
The Manchester United loanee was also great with his feet and had a perfect tackling night with six perfect tackles and a 100% success rate in this aspect of the game too. He also had 11 clearances and a couple of interceptions to round off an impressive night defensively.
In the past as well, most of the work done by the youngsters was in the defensive end, though he did have a few forays up field. His heat map was in and around the Manchester United penalty box and that certainly is something that his current club could do with.
The Red Devils have been poor in the last three games and Jose Mourinho even had a go at current left-back Luke Shaw. While the former Southampton man could have done better in a few games, Borthwick-Jackson has been doing pretty well for his new club.
While playing at a lower level might be helping him, he certainly has shown he can do well against the better teams. Newcastle United are Premier League quality at the moment and picking up the motm award certainly is a great bonus for the young defender.
The 19-year-old does also have the capability of producing great crosses and his speed and energy would be well used, should he come back to Manchester United soon. United fans will be hoping that Mourinho is watching and keeping a tab on the youngster.
