Teden Mengi will celebrate his 21st birthday this weekend and he couldn't have hoped for a better gift than his first competitive start for Manchester United since leaving the pitch on a stretcher during a friendly in Spain five months ago.
With the World Cup in Qatar still ongoing, Erik ten Hag brought a youthful squad to the winter training camp in Andalucia in December and Mengi was among those hoping to take his chance, but disaster struck again for the academy product.
Mengi went down with an injury against Real Betis, which forced him to be taken off the pitch on a stretcher. He was faced with another stint on the treatment table and that also meant he was unable to leave on loan in January.
ALSO READ: Why Kobbie Mainoo has been absent from matchday squads
The centre-back made his senior debut against LASK in the Europa League in August 2020, which was the moment he wanted to progress from, but football has been cruel to him since, forcing him to deal with multiple injuries.
Mark Dempsey, Under-21 manager, spoke about Mengi after a draw against Arsenal earlier this month and he said: "He’s done well. He’s been back for a couple of weeks now, but he’s not quite back up to what we deem as match fitness.
"You would think so [loan away in the summer], but you never know, what the manager thinks or pre-season can always change plans. Teden has been out, he’s played at a number of clubs, and he’s tried and tested.
"So please to god he’ll not get any more injuries. He’s had trouble with some niggly injuries and some long-term injuries, but he’s a good kid, another local kid, who we want to go on, progress and to do well."
Mengi was given the armband by Dempsey against Tottenham on Friday night and the smile on his face when leading the team out was visible. It's been an arduous recovery for Mengi, but he was finally back doing what loves against Spurs.
He started alongside Willy Kambwala in central defence and he was joined by Marc Jurado and Bjorn Hardley at right-back and left-back respectively. Radek Vítek was in between the sticks and he shouted 'from the start, boys' ahead of kick-off.
It seemed like both sets of players listened. It was an entertaining opening at Leigh Sports Village and both sides immediately looked to get on the front foot, something which Ten Hag regularly discusses the importance of at first-team level.
There were two goals in the opening 15 minutes of the game and Noam Emeran's was the pick of both goals. Charlie Wellens, who is set to leave upon the expiration of his contract, played a speculative ball forward and yet Emeran latched onto it.
The 20-year-old displayed impressive strength to get it under control before slotting into the bottom right corner with a low, quality strike. Dempsey applauded on the touchline but the smile on his face didn't last for very long.
Vitek attempted to play out back from the back - that is the philosophy at the club - and he found Kambwala, who subsequently found the lurking Romaine Mundle. The Tottenham winger made no mistake and it was 1-1 on the scoreboard.
Mengi made a strong return to action and his leadership was obvious in defence. He made a string of excellent tackles in the first half and he was eventually replaced at the break, with Dempsey making sure to carefully handle his comeback.
Mengi, Wellens and Maxi Oyedele were replaced by Toby Collyer, Dan Gore and Sam Murray, but it was Tottenham who went ahead after half-time. Isak Hansen-Aaroen was dispossessed and he was ruthlessly punished for losing the ball.
Spurs' Nile John found the bottom left corner from 20 yards, but the game of basketball would continue. Gore, who was now wearing the armband, urged his teammates to respond and he was instrumental in making the game 2-2 minutes later.
Gore picked up the ball in midfield and impressively found Hugill's run in the box. To have the vision and to execute the pass was genuinely impressive and Hugill obliged, making sure to thank Gore for the assist when swiftly running back.
Dempsey has described Gore as a 'proper footballer' and it's not hard to see why academy staff have lots of time for him. The midfielder was key in winning the FA Cup Youth Cup last year and he's slick, technically exceptional and creative.
Hugill almost scored again shortly after his equaliser. The ball was just beyond him in the box and the game began to look increasingly open in the closing stages, with Tottenham finding the net but the strike being denied for offside.
The game ended 2-2, rather ironically after the first-team also drew with Spurs in the Premier League on Thursday night. Nick Cox, who was present at Leigh, wants the academy to reflect the first-team, but that mantra isn't usually seen so literally.
The U21s have just one match remaining this season and that comes against Leicester next Friday. The first-team stylishly defeated Leicester 3-0 at Old Trafford in February and Dempsey wouldn't mind that same scoreline happening again.
READ MORE:
