Tahith Chong is at a crossroads as he approaches the summer transfer window.
His future has been committed to Manchester United after he signed a new professional deal last month, but his path to first-team stardom is less certain.
Upon signing his new contract in March, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reiterated his faith in the Dutch winger and promised he would be given the tools to succeed at Old Trafford.
“With Tahith we’re very happy he sees his future here, we can see a very good player there and we’ll give him time to develop,” said Solskjaer.
How ironic that after such a lengthy transfer saga in which United were left waiting on hold, it is now Chong who is asking for time to succeed.
The main issue for Chong is that he is far too good for reserve team football but still represents a liability when he makes the step-up to senior football. It isn't his fault, either.
A horrific knee injury stunted his progression through the youth ranks at United yet it is alarming that after so much promise he only made his senior debut last January in a dull FA Cup win over Reading. Chong should have been exposed to first-team football sooner, and as a result he is now in an awkward position where his talents don't currently reside at Old Trafford.
The Netherlands Under-21 international has played 15 times for United but only started on four occasions, and is no longer the most exciting young talent at the club.
On the plus side there is far less pressure on Chong to succeed than there was two years ago. Over the past year fellow academy stars Mason Greenwood, Brandon Williams, James Garner, and Ethan Laird have all inked new contracts at the club and there is a clear belief the Dutch youngster will get his chance when he is ready.
However, to make that next step in his career Chong needs to be playing every week, and that will only come if he leaves on loan at the end of the season.
Speaking earlier in the year his agent Erkan Alkan told Dutch media outlet AD: “There was a lot of interest, we talked to big clubs, but Manchester United came up with a good plan for Tahith.
"He likes to stay with the club that brought him from the Netherlands.”
That 'good plan' of United's might very well involve sending Chong back to his homeland in order to build upon the very positive foundations he has already in place. When the season comes to an end there will be no shortage of interest in the winger with clubs from England and Spain likely to be interested.
Yet it is a move back to the Netherlands to play in the Eredivisie which surely makes the most sense. The league is known for providing youngsters will regularly playing time, while the lesser standard of teams would make it a perfect environment for Chong to prove just how good he really is.
Excelling there could be the perfect platform for future stardom at United, while failure could all but end his hopes before they had really had chance to blossom. It is the type of pressure he needs right now.
Not only would the youngster have the chance to transform his club career back in his homeland, but by performing well he would then be in a position to go to the European Championship next summer. The Netherlands are excelling with their own cultural reset under Ronald Koeman at international level, and a breakthrough season in front of his nation's media would enhance Chong's dreams of being a global star.
United fought so hard to keep Chong at the club, but now it is in both of their interests to let him go, for a while at least.
By GOD55
IG @god55my
#god55 #epl #manchesterunited #mufc #football #soccer #bolasepak
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