OPINION: TIME ON CHONG'S SIDE
Report by Adam Marshall
Tahith Chong was always going to stand out on a football pitch with his long hair and distinctive style but his form since returning to action has caught the eye more than anything else.
Always a target for tough tackles, he was injured in an Under-18 game against Everton last year and required surgery on the cruciate knee ligament damage. A lengthy spell on the sidelines halted his progress but the club looked after him well, including taking him away to Austria for the pre-season training camp.
Chong was at ease with his colleagues, able to cycle and remain part of the group, joining in with the jokes and japes. He also had time for his first dummy MUTV interview in the Alpine sunshine. Relaxed on camera, the Netherlands prospect was just itching to get back in action.
The 18-year-old made his return in November against Manchester City, scoring early on, and has not looked back since. The staff are still treating a player described by Under-23s boss Ricky Sbragia as a "gem" and by Head of Academy Nicky Butt as a "player we've always had at Manchester United over the years", carefully. The artificial surface and aggressive opponents in Brodarac in the UEFA Youth League was deemed an unnecessary risk and Chong remained at home in Manchester.
That was probably hard to take for the former Feyenoord youngster, who clearly just enjoys playing football. And it shows in his performances, dancing past defenders and exciting crowds with his dazzling dribbling and sharp acceleration. He's a real goal threat and capable of drawing fouls to earn penalties and set-pieces in dangerous positions.
Most importantly, he is remaining grounded. Helped by the club and his family, he has not had his head turned by outlandish comparisons with stars of yesteryear. In an online world where hyperbole increases in order to generate more and more clickbait stories, you may have already seen him described as the next Ryan Giggs or even George Best.
What with him being a wide player and very talented, such clearly premature talk is seen as a natural step. Not that it matters to Chong or anybody within the club. This is a time to be enjoyed, as he says. His impact in the Under-23s has been instant, he's already shown he rises to the occasion playing at Old Trafford and, if required for the Under-18s, he can express himself fully in Kieran McKenna's free-flowing side that is chasing honours this season.
There is nothing wrong with getting excited about a youngster's potential but the context can be sadly lacking at times. After one game for the Reserves, stories sprung up about Chong playing on the right-hand side of attack in the first team. What we do know is Jose Mourinho is happy to invest faith in youth when the time is right and, as has already been shown in his fledgling career, the Curacao-born forward is in the right place to be nurtured expertly and allowed to develop in his own time.
Of course, all this may not be as exciting as declaring with bold certainty what the future holds for the teenager, whether that be a United senior debut and much more besides. But that remains impossible at this moment in time, as it is for any Academy prospect. If you want to be excited or entertained, once he's back from the Dallas Cup, just watch him play with your own eyes and ignore the hype.
The opinions in this story are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Manchester United Football Club.
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