'The player's job to force the pathway' - can Moorhouse impress?
[Getty Images] Manchester United under-21 coach Adam Lawrence is looking for midfielder Jack Moorhouse to use the final games of the season to show he can perform at an elite level. The 20-year-old was named on the first-team bench four times last campaign without getting on to make his senior bow. He then seemed to be impressing on loan at League One Leyton Orient until a series of winter deadline day moves triggered Moorhouse's return to United after 24 appearances for the east London outfit.
Moorhouse has been picked on the bench twice by Michael Carrick since his return and frequently gets called into first-team training. However, it is in games, including the Premier League International Cup quarter-final with Real Madrid at Old Trafford, where Moorhouse will really have a chance to shine. "He's not a staple [at training] as a Jack Fletcher or a Shea Lacey, but he's over there often enough," said Lawrence.
"There's always got to be a bit of room to say to the player 'go and perform - and your performances pick teams or get you a loan or get you in the first team'. "It's the club's part to create the pathway. It's the player's job to force the pathway and make that final part.
That's where Jack sits at the moment. "There's no bigger fan of Jack than me. He's a lovely player.
He receives the ball on the back foot, the way that he can travel and glide with the ball. "What we're looking for him to do between now and the end of the season, in those under-21s games, like against Madrid, 21s play-offs, is show he can perform at the elite level and make the difference. We feel he can.