Man United Fans Cast Verdict on Harry Amass After First Premier League Start

 Newcastle United played host to Manchester United in the English top flight on Sunday afternoon – and fans of the latter have cast their verdict on Carrington graduate Harry Amass, who made his first Premier League start at St James’ Park.

Irrespective of their contrast in form, any meeting between the Magpies and the Red Devils promises fireworks. Newcastle’s tails are up at the prospect of Champions League football, while Amorim’s focus remains on this season’s Europa League.

Eddie Howe’s side, however, ran out 3–1 victors on this occasion as Harvey Barnes’ brace of strikes stole the show for a rampant Newcastle, leaving Ruben Amorim and his men to languish in 14th place with just six league games left to play.

Before kick-off, the big news coming out of the Old Trafford camp was that Altay Bayindir had replaced Andre Onana inbetween the sticks. Elsewhere, the young and inexperienced Amass also made his first start of his Premier League career.

Before his side’s loss in the northeast of England, London-born Amass had chalked up just one appearance for his employers’ senior side – a 21-minute cameo against Leicester City in the Premier League – but now he was trusted on a big day out.

It's clear that Amass was, despite his tender age, was more than prepared for the challenge that is facing the Champions League-chasing Magpies. That was evidenced by his tussle with Fabian Schar, who is 15 years his senior, in the first half. Watch it below:

For academy graduates getting their first start in England’s top flight, they usually come in the form of a dead-rubber against lesser opposition – but not for the former Watford hotshot, who was thrown in at the deep end: an encounter against Newcastle away from home.

Utilised in the left wing-back berth, it’s not unfair to say that Amass looked to struggle with the positivity of Jacob Murphy. In response to his troublesome start to proceedings, one fan said: "This game is too difficult for Harry Amass."

Things certainly improved for the youngster as he looked to join the action going forward while remaining defensively solid. Before being replaced by Patrick Dorgu in the 55th minute, the youngster enjoyed 31 touches of the ball on the left-hand side, won 100% of his aerial duels and registered three clearances in a rather solid Premier League debut.

As evidenced by the footage below, Amass' willingness to fly up the flank and make things happen between the midfield and attack is not to be argued. Linking up with Alejandro Garnacho, he evaded the pressure of two or three Newcastle players before finding Joshua Zirkzee.

'Assured on the ball, but wasn't afraid to be brave either'

And members of the Old Trafford faithful have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to offer their verdict on what was an otherwise dismal day of football for the 13-time Premier League champions. One supporter labelled his display as 'tidy':

“Tidy performance from Harry Amass. Assured on the ball, but wasn’t afraid to be brave either. Coped well physically. Very positive first showing. More to come.”

Given the challenges of facing a well-drilled Newcastle, a second fan said: “Good solid debut from Harry Amass. Did really well given the circumstances. Playing away at Newcastle is not easy but he had some very good moments. Well played kid.”

Another wrote: “Harry Amass has shown that he has what it takes to be a Man United first team player. Tenacity, aggression, technical ability, intelligence with and without the ball, composure, agility, good acceleration with excellent pace is a frightening prospect that can still be developed more.”