May 6, 2014 must go down as one of the best days of James Wilson’s life. Having impressed at Under-18 and Reserve level all season long, the Biddulph-born striker was given his senior Manchester United debut by caretaker boss Ryan Giggs against Hull City in the Premier League.
What a debut it was, as Wilson displayed the blistering pace and deadly eye for goal that he had shown at youth level, scoring twice as United ran out 3-1 winners at Old Trafford. The first goal displayed his good off-the-ball movement, getting between two defenders to unleash a powerful half-volley into the net, while the second was an instinctive poacher’s finish, tapping the ball home from Marouane Fellaini’s saved shot.
Two years on from that magnificent debut, Wilson’s fortunes seemed to have changed – and not for the better. He has been usurped in the pecking order due to the arrivals of Anthony Martial and Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Old Trafford, as well as the emergence of one Marcus Rashford onto the scene, who earnt himself a place in England’s squad for their disappointing Euro 2016 campaign after his scintillating performances during the latter half of last season.
It could have easily been Wilson in Rashford’s shoes had former manager Louis van Gaal not loaned the 20-year-old out to Championship front-runners Brighton in November despite the obvious lack of depth United had up front. With Wayne Rooney misfiring in front of goal, you would have thought Wilson would have had an opportunity to stake his first-team claims had the United captain gone down with injury.
Instead, Wilson endured an average loan spell at Brighton, scoring five times in 28 appearances (mostly off the bench) for the Seagulls as they failed to get themselves promoted once again, defeated by Sheffield Wednesday in the play-off semi-finals. Meanwhile in Manchester, Rashford stepped into Wilson’s role and when injuries finally hit the Reds up front, the Wythenshawe-born frontman stepped up to show the world of his talents.
And after a poor 45 minutes in José Mourinho’s first match in charge of Manchester United against Wigan on Saturday, Wilson’s days at Old Trafford seem to be numbered – confirmed by his absence from the Portuguese manager’s 25-man squad for their brief tour of China.
It is expected that Wilson will now be loaned out to another Championship club to gain further first-team experience, but once that comes to a close, it could well spell curtains for the England under-21 international’s time at the Theatre of Dreams.
But I believe that Wilson still has a future at Old Trafford beyond this season. It wasn’t that long ago that he was being touted as the next big thing to come out of Carrington and the similarities between him and Rashford are eerie – both men scored braces on their debuts, although Rashford has gone on to leave Wilson in the background with his unbelievable consistency since his big break.
Wilson’s pace, off-the-ball movement and finishing ability are arguably as good as Rashford and perhaps the only thing missing from Wilson’s repertoire is the ability to make sound decisions – which Rashford has shown that he can do so consistently at such a young age.
Wilson’s style of play is also one of his weak spots – he is a out-and-out poacher, which means he doesn’t get involved in build-up play unlike many other strikers. This means that he often relies on good service from his midfielders in order to get behind the defence with his pace and when he doesn’t, he gets isolated, as his performance against Wigan showed.
However, Wilson has shown that he is willing to work hard for the benefit of the team and if he can mature quickly during a loan spell with either a newly promoted Premier League side or a top Championship side this season, he could well give Mourinho a dilemma when he returns in the summer of 2017. With Ibrahimovic reportedly only signing a one-year deal with United, the opportunity is there for the 20-year-old to make that spot his own when the Swede leaves Old Trafford.
Comments.
Loading comments…