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05th Jan 2016

U21 coach claims that recalled Will Keane is in line for Manchester United first team opportunities

"That's the idea of him coming back"

Darragh Murphy

Manchester United fans will be hoping that Will Keane isn’t the only solution that Louis van Gaal has come up with to remedy his side’s lack of goals.

Keane was recalled from his season-long loan at Preston last week amid fears that United had a genuine lack of squad depth, especially in attacking positions.

The 22-year-old was not included in van Gaal’s matchday squad for Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Swansea but Tommy Martin, a coach in United’s U21 set-up, believes that it won’t be long before he is called up.

“I think that’s the idea of him coming back from Preston,” Martin told Manchester Evening News. “That hopefully he’ll be involved with the first team more than the U21s.”

Manchester United v Sheffield United - FA Youth Cup Final 2nd Leg

Keane played 85 minutes for the U21s on Monday night as United beat Spurs 3-1 and Martin believes that the young striker must try to get as many minutes under his belt as possible, even if he features more for the U21s than the senior team.

“It’s good for him to get minutes on the pitch,” Martin said.

“Even though he’s involved with the first team he needs to play as well as much as possible so that was good for him tonight and it’s a bonus to get the goals.

“He’s a young player, he’s part of the first team squad but not always getting the minutes so it’s vital that he does play for the U21s when he gets the opportunity.”