Manchester United’s season slumped to a new low in midweek as they lost 4-3 to FC Copenhagen in the Champions League, despite leading both 2-0 and 3-2 during the tie.
Erik ten Hag is now a man under serious pressure, as the result at Old Trafford means United have won just one of their opening four matches in Europe’s premier competition.
With games against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray to come in the coming weeks, their hopes of securing qualification to the knockout phase are on a knife edge.
Not only that, but the Red Devils are also out of the EFL Cup, while they currently occupy eighth spot in the Premier League table – losing five of their first 11 matches – and this run of form has been United’s worst start to a season since the 1962/63 campaign.
The club could count on Denis Law and Bobby Charlton back then, yet who in this current United side is going to make the step-up to salvage something from this woeful term so far?
Ten Hag has been besieged by injury problems while the likes of Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes have struggled to replicate the form they displayed during his first season in charge, one in which the club won the EFL Cup and finished third place in the league.
With his job looking increasingly on the line with every poor result, is could be time for Ten Hag to drop some of his underperformers and unleash some young talent in the squad, with Malachi Sharpe currently impressing in the academy.
Malachi Sharpe’s youth statistics
The 17-year-old joined the Red Devils from Derby County in 2021 and his promise was clearly noticed by the United hierarchy as he signed his first-ever professional contract in 2022, thus committing his future to the club.
The right-winger was just 15 at the time and moved straight into the U16s squad, but he even went on to play for the U18s, showcasing his incredible potential.
The youngster made three appearances for the U18 side during his first season in Manchester and while last season offered him no opportunities at that level, the current campaign has been much more profitable.
Across just five games in the U18 Premier League and the UEFA Youth League, Sharpe has scored three goals and he looks like a dangerous threat on the right-hand side of the attack.
Although born in Nottingham, Sharpe has gained five caps for the Scotland U17 side, managing to score on his debut against Northern Ireland back in October 2021 and his next step will be to make the jump up to U19 level.
Previously hailed as an “exciting talent” by one source, there is no doubt his future looks promising, and Ten Hag could unearth United’s next Alejandro Garnacho by giving him some experience around the first team squad in the near future.
Malachi Sharpe could be Man Utd’s next Alejandro Garnacho
The Argentinian winger arrived in Manchester from Atlético Madrid back in 2020 as a highly thought of 16-year-old and across the last three years, he has emerged as a regular in the senior setup.
He made his debut during the 2021/22 campaign and really began to make people sit up and take notice last term, as the youngster featured 34 times for the first team under Ten Hag, and it looked as though they had a new star in the making.
Garnacho netted five times during his breakthrough campaign, and he shares a similar goalscoring eye with Sharpe, who is always looking to create opportunities for himself.
Another 15 appearances have followed this season and while he has only scored once, the winger is still a teenager and has plenty to learn during his journey.
Sharpe could certainly take confidence from the fact that Garnacho has made such a positive impression in the first team over the previous 18 months, and he could be the next one on the conveyor belt to make the step-up under Ten Hag.
Considering how poor United have been on the wing this term, a senior chance might not be a million miles away, especially as he does have more goals than Antony during 2023/24.
Malachi Sharpe has scored more goals than Antony this season for Man Utd
As previously mentioned, the Scottish youth international has scored three goals in just five matches so far, while Antony has failed to get on the scoresheet at all for the senior side.
The Brazilian cost United a staggering £81.3m from Ajax during the summer of 2022 and given he had registered 22 goal contributions for the Dutch side – 12 goals and ten assists – combined with his age, it looked as though the club had signed a wonderful talent who was yet to hit his peak.
He did score eight times last season, but his form has nosedived during the current campaign, as the 23-year-old has failed to score or even grab an assist across 11 matches in all competitions, a woeful return given just how big a financial outlay was spent on him.
The right-wing position is becoming a bit of a problem for Ten Hag recently. Marcus Rashford was even deployed there in midweek but ended up being sent off and with Antony failing to live up to the hype, it could give some youngsters a chance to show the Dutchman what they are made of.
15
1
11
0
3
0
15
1
7
0
14
1
14
5
Sharpe is not only outscoring Antony, but also Jadon Sancho, Rashford and Garnacho this season, demonstrating how impressive he has been in front of goal for the U18 side in recent months.
Of course, he isn’t an immediate fix to a much wider problem and throwing him in the deep end could harm his development. Having the teen sensation around the matchday squad, however, could prove to be an invaluable experience and make the transition from the academy to the senior side that much easier.
Sharpe has plenty of qualities which could see him emerge as the new Garnacho at United in the coming years and, at his current rate, he could soon be outscoring every single player at the Red Devils.
Might the supporters see him make his first-team debut before the end of the season? Only time will tell, but it will be worth the wait for when it does happen.