Fabrizio Romano confirms Manchester United squad change vs Man City as 17-year-old to replace injured star
Man Utd face Manchester City in the Premier League fixture at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United could make a couple of changes to their match day squad when they face Man City in the Premier League fixture on Sunday afternoon. Ruben Amorim has already tasted victory over Pep Guardiola twice this season and will hope to make it third time lucky at Old Trafford later today.
United could make two changes to their squad from the 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest earlier in the week, with Kobbie Mainoo in contention to return to the bench, while Matthijs de Ligt is a doubt after he suffered an injury in the last match. It means Amorim might have to dip into the club's academy to boost their options for the derby clash, with a 17-year-old reportedly set to earn a call up amid the shortage of senior options.
De Ligt could drop out of the United match day squad entirely and it is claimed a teenage defender is set to replace him on the bench against Man City.
Godwill Kukonki set for squad role vs Man City
Fabrizio Romano claims teenage defender Godwill Kukonki will be promoted to the bench when Manchester United face Man City in the Premier League this weekend. The 17-year-old has yet to make his senior debut for the club but has been named on the bench three times in the league already this season.
Kukonki was an unused substitute against Arsenal, Newcastle and Southampton before he dropped back down to the U18s, with an appearance in the Youth Cup semi-final defeat to Aston Villa earlier in the week. The teenage defender did not feature as the U18s thrashed Leeds 13-1 on Saturday lunchtime.
Taking to social media on Sunday morning, Romano claimed Kukonki would be named on the bench against City, which suggests De Ligt could miss the match entirely through injury.
"Man United’s 17 year old talent Gabriel (sic) Kukonki will make the bench for today’s Derby against Manchester City. He’s considered as top talent by the club and Ruben Amorim."
Manchester United team news vs Man City
Kobbie Mainoo could be back on the bench when Manchester United face Man City in the Premier League today, while Luke Shaw could also be in contention after his recent return from injury.
“I think Kobbie is returning to training, we will see, assess or this game, he cannot play a full game,” Amorim told reporters at his pre-match press conference. “I think Matthijs has an issue, he has something in the game and we have to assess.”
Mason Mount returned from injury when he made a cameo from the bench in the midweek defeat to Nottingham Forest, and Amorim confirmed he is in contention to start against City on Sunday afternoon. “Yeah he can start but we have to manage his minutes still. For the team it is not to speak about that too much, let Mason Mount train a lot of times, getting the load in his body and forget about that because the mind sometimes is more important than the body.”