Manchester United may have found another first-team winger after signing him from Liverpool
Manchester United have a youngster in the academy who you probably haven't heard about, but who has made a superb start to the season and could push for his first-team debut.
His name is Ethan Ennis. The winger has looked hell-bent on making up for lost time after recovering from a serious knee injury and he's doing everything right when he plays. Ennis started on the right for United's U21s in their penalty shoot out win over Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night and made an instant impression.
The 19-year-old fizzed a cross into the box but nobody was there to convert. It didn't take long for him to create another chance, this time converted by Sam Mather to give United an early 1-0 lead.
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Ennis' first touch to beat his man on the touchline was superb. He cut inside from the right and darted toward the opposition box where, perhaps most impressively, he picked the right pass when finding Mather who finished brilliantly into the bottom right corner. The pocket of away supporters who made the journey burst into celebration and Doncaster's players trudged back for the restart, looking shocked by the two moments of quality that created the goal.
It was a big deal when United signed Ennis from Liverpool in August 2021. He scored 10 goals in 19 appearances for United's Under-18s in 2021/22, his first full season at the club, but disaster struck a year later when he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
He is making up for lost time and his work out of possession is improving, highlighted by his diligent tracking back to tackle Doncaster's Jack Senior at the end of the first half. The hosts were level by then, having equalised in the 24th minute, but Ennis continued to catch the eye alongside the exciting Jack Fletcher.
Dan Gore wore the captain's armband, back in action after recovering from a freak shoulder injury he picked up in the summer. Gore last played a competitive game on loan with Port Vale on January 27 and he will look to follow Ennis' example of coming back stronger after a period on the sidelines.
There was a suspicion that Gore, who made his first-team debut against Crystal Palace in September last year, would be substituted at half-time given he was playing his first game for eight months, but he came out for the second half and dug deep to get minutes into his legs.
It took just five minutes into the second half for Doncaster to make it 2-1 when Ephraim Yeboah tapped in a rebound from the post. United goalkeeper Dermot Mee made a mistake for the hosts' third and won't want to watch the replay back, as he misplaced a pass when playing out from the back and was beaten by a lobbed finish.
That goal threatened to kill the game but this set of United youngsters have form for comebacks and Ennis struck with just under 20 minutes to go. Mather this time the provider.
A well-placed academy source recently said Ennis had been challenged to deliver consistently strong 90 minute displays and he is rising to that demand. He is making tremendous progress and it's even sweeter that he was signed from Liverpool.
He was substituted with minutes to go before United made it 3-3 in the last seconds of the game. Mee was up for corner and notched an assist as Louis Jackson turned the ball in. United won the subsequent penalty shootout thanks to five perfectly struck penalties and the youngsters sprinted to the away end to throw themselves into fans.