How Teden Mengi has made rapid progress at Man Utd

At the end of the truncated season, he had played only four league games in the Under-18s but four times this number in Premier League 2. 

It was a clear sign he was ahead of schedule and he has pushed on further, linking up with the senior squad in Germany for the Europa League and coming off the bench in the only pre-season friendly, at Aston Villa, when he was quickly into the action and showing his strength.

Ole commented on this afterwards and has since told us that he expects Teden will have more games with Wood’s team, as had been the original plan. “Teden’s jumped up,” said the boss. “He’ll probably play some Under-23s games this season, when it’s possible for him. He needs games at that stage regularly. But he’s done absolutely brilliantly in training and he came on for half an hour against Villa and didn’t put a foot wrong. He’s with us every single day.”

Tuesday’s Carabao Cup tie at Luton Town could result in a domestic debut for the 18-year-old. Playing against the Hatters’ front men will be a stern test but there will be nobody betting against him rising to the occasion, if he does get the nod at Kenilworth Road.

Teden Mengi appears to be swiftly shifting expectations and making startling progress.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.

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