Thomas Hein
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson is all set to move away from Manchester United according to reports from ESPN. The outlet claims that Jose Mourinho has sealed a deal to send the defender away on loan to Leeds United and the youngster could slot straight into the side in the opening week clash against Bolton.
Mou wants to send the 20-year-old on loan for the lad to gain more minutes under his belt and the English defender was not even part of our pre-season games in America. The youngster actually broke into our squad a couple of years ago under Louis van Gaal. Borthwick-Jackson played 14 games for United in the 2015-16 season but was sent out on loan by Mourinho last time around.
The English defender played for Wolverhampton Wanderers but only made seven appearances, certainly not enough for someone looking to get better with more playing time. There have been issues regarding his fitness levels too and was criticised by Paul Lambert last season as he was in charge of the Wolves.
So Much Talent And Nothing To Show For It
There were a lot of expectations of Borthwick-Jackson when he broke into our squad but as with a number of young players to have come out of our academy in recent years, it was a false dawn.
The 20-year-old left-back could have been used last season too when we struggled with Luke Shaw but it seems like Mourinho will continue his policy of getting rid of young players as quickly as possible.
The move to Leeds, a club that is pushing for a play-off spot if not for automatic promotion, does give Borthwick-Jackson a chance to show his ability. The 20-year-old would be in the limelight and if he can have a great first half of the season for Leeds, there might be a future for him at Old Trafford.
However, the more likely outcome to this move is the defender finding another club with a bunch of great performances for Leeds. Borthwick-Jackson is a stark reminder of what can happen if you lose a bit of focus in your career and for his sake, let’s hope this move works out for him and all the parties involved.
