Old Trafford, Chelsea, Selhurst Park - Thwaites' whirlwind
It's been a crazy few days for Manchester United youngster Jim Thwaites. On Friday, he played the full 120 minutes in central midfield as United beat Crystal Palace at Old Trafford to reach the FA Youth Cup final. On Saturday morning, he was on his way to London so he could be named as a substitute in the Premier League for the first time as Michael Carrick's side beat Chelsea.
[Getty Images] It's been a crazy few days for Manchester United youngster Jim Thwaites. On Friday, he played the full 120 minutes in central midfield as United beat Crystal Palace at Old Trafford to reach the FA Youth Cup final. On Saturday morning, he was on his way to London so he could be named as a substitute in the Premier League for the first time as Michael Carrick's side beat Chelsea .
Tonight he will be back in the capital as United try to beat Palace again, this time at Selhurst Park, in the Premier League Under-18 Cup. Sitting at Carrington, alongside Under-18s skipper Dan Armer, Thwaites admitted it had been a lot to take in. "I was delighted, over the moon, obviously, to hear the news," he explained.
"On Friday I was concentrating on the game and getting the job done there. It was later, after the game, I was told I was on the bench for the first team. " Travis Binnion, who was in charge of United's Under-21 team until he was elevated to the senior ranks following Ruben Amorim's dismissal in January, gave Thwaites the good news and travelled down with the youngster, whose family are based in Cumbria, the following morning.
"I had to tell my family and stuff like that," said Thwaites. "I'm just trying to learn as much as possible from the pros because that's where you want to be realistically, so just grasp it all in. " Thwaites was part of the senior squad that travelled to Maynooth for a four-day training camp less than a fortnight earlier.