Angel Gomes: A Rare Talent Generating Huge Excitement at Manchester United

Angel Gomes has been on fire for Manchester United's under-18s. The former captain of England's under-16s, the teenager has made three starts and a substitute appearance at youth level this season, scoring four goals and providing three assists.

Numbers like that are bound to attract attention, but Gomes' performances would have been drawing plaudits even without that level of end product. He has just turned 16, having been born—and for those of a certain age, this could be tough to hear—on August 31, 2000.

Regular United youth-team watcher Doron Salomon said: "He's so young. That's the thing I've still not quite got my head around. He's always the youngest in his age group, and yet you'd have no idea apart from the fact he looks small."

Being the standout star in an under-18 side having only been 16 for a few days is some achievement, and should the fast track he is on continue, he could be set for a meteoric rise.

So what does Gomes have which makes him such an exciting prospect?

Salomon added: "Obviously his close control, technique, dribbling and skill set is of an extremely high level, but for me the most impressive thing is how brave he is. We're only a few games into the new under-18 season, and already he's getting targeted by opposition sides who just want to kick lumps out of him. He gets up every time and brushes it off."

In the first game studied, United's youngsters were up against Middlesbrough's under-18s and the game was evenly matched at 1-1 after 50 minutes.

By the time the final whistle blew, it was 5-1 to United, and it is easy to see why Boro's confidence collapsed when Gomes' cross found on-trial Idris Kanu for the Red Devils' second goal.

It was not the cross—which was decent—or the simple finish that did the damage. Rather it was Gomes' truly remarkable ball control, and his ability to turn that into end product, which opened the floodgates.

He received a pass fizzed into him in a pretty standard No. 10 position, a little over to the left with his back to goal. He took one step forward—towards his own goal—then immediately attempted a Cruyff turn between two Boro defenders.

One of them got a small touch on the ball, but Gomes was quickest to react, and, while he was a couple of yards further downfield than he would have been had the turn worked, he nonetheless had the ball at his feet and facing goal.

He was forced outside by Boro's defence—holding off a physical challenge, having his ankles clipped, but keeping his feet and the ball. Then, like peak Andres Iniesta or, whisper it, Lionel Messi, he drove back inside and spread a pass out to the right.

At this point, United had successfully created an overload as Gomes had occupied the specific physical attention of four players and the mental attention of several more, which left space available on the right. Rather than trying to continue his run for the sake of personal glory, the teenager found DJ Buffonge and ran into space in the box.

It was poor defending on Boro's part that no one picked up his run, but it showed an excellent awareness of space on Gomes' part. He received the return pass from Buffonge, fired a right-footed cross low to the back post and Kanu tapped it in.

Playing with players considerably older than him, the then-15-year-old Gomes made an enormous, tangible difference on that passage of play and thus the game.

Salomon noted Gomes' increasing influence: "It's one thing having the technical qualities he does, but it's another to execute them. I think that's one of the most obvious developments I've seen in him over the last six to nine months, he's now really influencing games by picking the right passes, dictating the tempo and his movement is superb."

The opener in United's game with Boro was a perfect example of him picking the right pass. Gomes found Indy Boonen with a scooped, curved pass with the outside of his right boot—the “wrong” foot to use for this pass. It is an example of some fine No. 10 play; something he definitely has in his locker.

Not that his position is definitively set. Salomon added: "It's hard to know what role he might end up in. He's not a traditional No. 10 or wide player; I think he's a bit like David Silva in that he's best given the freedom to float around and find pockets of space."

The first clip example showed his effectiveness as a hybrid wide-man/No. 10, the second was pure No. 10 work. Gomes has also shown how good he can be on the wing.

United were 2-0 down to Liverpool when Gomes received the ball in a touchline-hugging spot on the left, in a little more space than the opposition defence would have liked. He immediately injected a change of pace into the move, accelerating with the ball at his feet, forcing the defence to back off him and creating a burst of potential and excitement.

His technique and running style was excellent, but what was really impressive—as with the outside-of-the-boot pass above—was his awareness.

The moment he picked up the ball, his eyes darted infield where he could spot Boonen's run. He had his head up again when Boonen signified his intent to break behind the defenders. Tahith Chong put himself into a position to offer a one-two with Gomes but was used as a decoy instead.

The moment at which it looked like Gomes was going to play the ball to Chong is the moment he instead slipped the pass through to Boonen. Boonen finished and United got back into the game, though they were unable to equalise.

As well as his impressive all-round contributions for the under-18s so far this season, Gomes also notched a historic hat-trick against Everton.

According to the club's official website: "The Englishman, who has now turned 16, was 15 years, 11 months and 29 days old at the time of the match against Everton, making him just the third 15-year-old in the club’s history to score a hat-trick for the Academy."

That the other two players to do so were Ramon Calliste and Alex Notman is, of course, ample proof that those who excel as youngsters do not necessarily emerge into the elite levels of professional football as a result.

There really are no guarantees of future success. However, at 16, Gomes is a rare talent. The excitement around him is clearly justified by his performances on the pitch. The output has been impressive, the manner of the output even more so.

In a couple of years' time, Jose Mourinho might have yet another young talent testing his reputation as a manager not inclined to give youth a chance.

If Gomes' development continues at its current rate, he might not give his manager much of a choice.

Quotations obtained first hand where not otherwise noted.