Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s rebuild at Manchester United is one built on giving youth a chance, and that’s already been evident this season.
Solskjaer had no hesitation in signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James, while Mason Greenwood featured heavily throughout pre-season as well.
There is a clear pathway for youngsters where there wasn’t one previously, and that means young players are determined to stay at the club.
Tahith Chong is one such player. The 19-year-old made his Manchester United debut last season and even featured in the Champions League win over Paris Saint Germain.
And it seems he’s keen to fight for his place as Voetbal International claim he had the chance to make a return to the Netherlands this summer.
They report PSV Eindhoven enquired about a move, while Feyenoord were looking at him as an option to improve their forward line.
That’s backed up by Algemeen Dagblad, who say Feyenoord wanted a loan deal and Dirk Kuyt even approached his agent to see if the youngster would be keen on a return to his former club.
However, he wasn’t interested in heading back to the Netherlands and made it clear he wants to fight for his place at Old Trafford.
VI also state Manchester United want to sign him up to a new contract.
Both newspapers have spoken to his agent, who not only confirmed the interest but explained why he turned down the move to Feyenoord.
‘Tahith does not want to be loaned, but rather fight for his chance at Manchester United,” he told VI.
“Top clubs from the Bundesliga and La Liga also have him in their sight. He has done a strong preparation, in which he has proven to belong to the better attackers of United. “
“It is not easy to have a player of Chong’s calibre return to the Netherlands and Feyenoord,” he added in his interview with AD.
“We got the impression that board members Eric Gudde and Martin van Geel did not see him as top talent.”
“It is nice that Kuyt is now thinking about Chong. They want to give youth a chance in De Kuip, but Chong is going for his chance at Manchester United.”
