After the rise of many young talents under Erik Ten Hag, their latest star Toby Collyer has emerged. At just 20 years old, Collyer is already capturing the attention of many fans and staff around the club, who believe the midfielder could follow in the footsteps of his former academy teammate Kobbie Mainoo. However, patience will be key to his development, with his Dutch manager stating he will “have to earn it”.
With Casemiro and Cristian Eriksen ageing and Scott McTominay’s departure looking likely, an opportunity has opened for the 20-year-old. After joining the Red Devils from Brighton in March 2022, due to not agreeing terms with his boyhood club, leaving a new chance in Manchester. When talking about the youngster, Ten Hag said, “You know me, I always want to make pathways for young players but they have to earn it, He’s now earned an opportunity. Today he was in the starting XI, that’s something, and we see how we can progress.
The Dutchman added, “We saw last year with [Alejandro] Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo what can happen, so the pathway is also open for other players and Toby is there in fourth.”
The US Tour
The 2024 pre-season tour saw Collyer earn his first opportunities in the first team. His passing abilities and defensive attributes saw him catch the eye of many, when he featured in all of the friendlies and partnering Casemiro throughout. When talking to MUTV, he said:
“It was a tough game, but I thought we did well as a team,” he explained. “We did some good things, and [there are] some things to improve, but I thought we had the right attitude and we tried to do the best with what the manager was telling us to do.
New Contract and opportunities
Toby Collyer vs Barnsley.
pic.twitter.com/QQfWw4PDVO— M (@MarcusKnowsBall) August 20, 2024
His accolades and accomplishments
He has also represented England at various youth levels, including the under-16s and under-17s, thus emphasising his qualities as he was chosen to captain his country.
The successor to Casemiro
With the Brazilian’s abilities declining significantly, United are desperate to find a replacement. Whilst, the club have been interested in Manuel Ugarte, Collyer offers a cheaper option as he continues to progress in the first-team. As a player, he is similar to Declan Rice in the way he can defend, read the game and push forward at times, but lacking the height and shooting attributes that Rice has. But whilst training with the likes of Casemiro, Eriksen and McTominay, he will be able to develop his game and learn from the more experienced figures as they all differ in what they excel in.
With Manchester United reverting to their 3-1-6 in possession, Casemiro usually drops in to the back three, similar to how they played in 2022/23. This build-up is much smoother as a player who can receive the ball can carry it or keep it in possession and wait for the gaps to appear. Whilst working in a deep lying playmaker role, he is also great at breaking up-play and preventing chance with his work-rate, mobility and tackling. Therefore, this could also be important in reducing the amount of shots conceded as that was a major issue last season. This role for Collyer would work with his abilities on the ball and his vision, as his confidence and maturity improves he could be the perfect player for this system in the future.
