Zidane Iqbal is now a salutary tale about what can happen to young players when they impress in pre-season and look to have taken a step forward in the summer sunshine.
The then-19-year-old shone on the tour of Thailand and Australia a year ago, performing well in a midfield role and looking set for opportunities under Erik ten Hag. Fast forward a year and Manchester United have banked just €1million from his transfer to FC Utrecht.
The moral of the story is that catching the eye in the slower pace of pre-season fixtures is easy to do. Sustaining that through the intensity and quality of a Premier League season is an altogether greater challenge. The Iraq international was an unused sub in 17 first-team games this season but ended it behind 17-year-old Kobbie Mainoo in the pecking order.
Iqbal was a feel-good story and looked like a composed central midfielder in last summer's fixtures, but he couldn't translate that into a season of first-team training and matches.
ALSO READ: Dortmund interested in United youngster Hannibal
But that doesn't mean pre-season exposure is worthless for young players. It always presents an opportunity to catch the eye and as Ten Hag takes the axe to his United squad, it might be the case more than ever in the United States this summer.
Ten Hag looks determined to accelerate a clearout in the ranks. David de Gea might leave at the end of his contract and first-team players such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Fred, Anthony Elanga and Anthony Martial could all be sold.
It's unlikely they will all go but United need to raise funds to spend and Ten Hag wants to get on with his rebuild. He might well enter next season with a smaller squad, fleshed out by youngsters who can take their place on the fringes of the squad.
In defence, 20-year-old left-back Alvaro Fernandez will get a chance in pre-season and if one of the central defenders does leave, it might actually leave a vacancy for the left-back. Maguire is the most likely senior player to depart and if he does go it could mean Luke Shaw being used more often as a back-up left-sided central defender.
If that's the case promoting Fernandez, who played 39 Championship games for Preston last season, could be an option. The former Real Madrid youngster was on the bench for United twice at the end of the 2021/22 season, but if he stays at the club next term he might get more exposure.
The midfield situation is going to be fascinating this summer. Ten Hag is pushing to sign Mason Mount but could sell Fred and McTominay. The former has one year left on his contract and has hinted at being open to a new challenge, while McTominay is a sellable asset in this squad.
Donny van de Beek's future must also be uncertain, but if numbers are reduced then FA Youth Cup winner Mainoo, 18, could get some opportunities. The Stockport-born midfielder is highly rated within the United academy system.
But maybe the biggest winner this summer could yet be Amad, who returns to United after a blistering loan spell at Sunderland last season, in which he scored 13 goals, many of them spectacular, and created four more.
There has always been a buzz around the winger after United agreed a potential €37million deal to sign him from Atalanta three years ago, but until now he hasn't quite lived up to that potential. After his heroics at the Stadium of Light he will get games this pre-season.
If Ten Hag lets Elanga and Facundo Pellistri leave, and maybe even Martial, then there will be a gap in the squad for another attacking player. After such an encouraging season Amad, who turns 21 next month, needs to continue getting games, but if he can shine in pre-season there might well be enough matches for him at United this season.
United begin their pre-season campaign against Leeds in Oslo on July 12, before facing Lyon in Edinburgh a week later. Games against Arsenal, Wrexham, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund follow in America, before a return to Old Trafford to face Athletic Bilbao. Those seven games could be a big chance for at least three youngsters this summer.
