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Manchester United’s Ayden Heaven has struggled for gametime this season.
Limited opportunities
The youngster joined from Arsenal in the January window and immediately got into the team with United struggling with injuries.
He impressed in the FA Cup, Premier League and Europa League.
Nonetheless, with United being knocked out of the Carabao Cup in August and not being in Europe this season, the young Englishman has found gametime hard to come by.
Heaven has only managed 92 combined minutes over three games this season. He did grab an assist for Bryan Mbeumo’s second goal in the 4-2 win over Brighton and Hove Albion last week though.
More opportunities needed
Owing to the 19 year old’s lack of minutes, The Peoples Person asked its readers to suggest what should be done with the defender.
53% of readers feel that Heaven should be given more opportunities to shine in the defence.
Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire have been in fine form this season and Luke Shaw has also been much better than usual in this current campaign.
Leny Yoro has also played regularly, so there has been less space for Heaven to slot into the team.
With Lisandro Martinez likely to come back into the team in the next weeks, the position is even more crowded for the youngster.
Loan
21% of supporters feel that a loan move in January might be the best move for the defender.
Heaven would certainly benefit from regular minutes on the pitch at this stage of his development.
What’s more, there would likely be numerous clubs in the Championship and possibly even Premier League that would be keen to add Heaven to their squad, even on a temporary basis.
Continue as is
18% of readers feel that Ruben Amorim is currently doing right by Heaven and that it is fine for him to be bench back up for Shaw and Martinez.
At 19 years old, he still has plenty of time to improve and work on his game. In addition, it is vital for Amorim that he qualifies for Europe next season and he may not feel he can risk playing a lot of young players in key positions like centre back.
Back to youth football
8% of fans believe that Heaven could benefit from returning to under 21 action.
It is important to note that the defender had only made one senior appearance for Arsenal before signing for United.
He has also only played in nine senior games for United in his career, so he is very much at the start of his playing journey.
Perhaps moving between the youth and senior team could give him valuable match rhythm and confidence.
Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
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The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
