What Fans Are Saying About Tahith Chong’s Performance As A Left-Back

By Naveen Kelvin | August 6, 2020
Manchester United's Tahith Chong in action.

Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

Manchester United have booked a spot against FC Copenhagen in Germany for the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Monday. That they would do so was a given as the 5-0 aggregate against LASK prior to Wednesday’s Old Trafford tryst was convincing enough.

However, the performance put up by an altered lineup on the night wasn’t the best as goals from Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial canceled out Philipp Wiesinger’s impressive strike to make it 2-1 in the end.

While there was nothing short of broken chemistry and intriguing personnel choices to comment upon, fans did have their thoughts on one choice that Ole Gunnar Solskjær made on the night.

Brandon Williams, assured a start on Monday, was brought off in the 72nd minute. His replacement was Tahith Chong.

Fans were initially taken aback by this choice but as the final minutes went on, they were certainly surprised.

The Dutch starlet’s impactful cameo certainly impressed many of the supporters who took to Twitter to share their praise. In particular, Chong’s pace was pointed out, as was his flair in pairing up at the flank.

 

Chong is not a natural left-back but now more than one fan has called for him to be considered as a back-up option in the spot given the efficacy of this short spell.

Incidentally, the youth talent is one who is thought to be exit-bound as recent reports have hinted at an SV Werder Bremen interest for the player, at least on an initial loan deal.

While it is unclear whether or not this performance will change his immediate future, fans will be pleased with the potential that he could be gone on a temporary basis and be back with development and valuable experience.

This is more than can be said about Angel Gomes, who rose up the ranks at a similar time as Chong and was in for much more praise but recently departed his boyhood club on a permanent basis.