While it is often bemoaned by fans and Premier League clubs alike, the international break does have its silver linings.
One is that it gives players who are perhaps on the periphery of the national team the chance to make their debut or pick up some more caps, as the stakes are far lower.
This happened in England’s game against Ireland over the weekend, as former Manchester United youngster Angel Gomes earned his first cap and then started his first game for the Three Lions against Finland a few days later.
The talented midfielder looked great in both games, and unfortunately for the United fans upset at missing out on him, they may have already sold a youngster who could have been their next Gomes, a prospect who’s even been compared to Frenkie de Jong before.
Angel Gomes journey to England
After rising through the youth ranks, Gomes left United in the summer of 2020 and joined French outfit LOSC Lillie on a free, although he was immediately loaned out to Portuguese side Boavista for the 20/21 season.
The young Englishman made 32 appearances in all competitions, scoring six goals and providing six assists, impressing his parent club in the process.
He wasn’t one of the first names on the teamsheet upon his return to Lille, but he did make 30 appearances across the 21/22 campaign, during which he also became a mainstay in Lee Carsley’s England U21 side.
The following two years saw him establish himself as an important cog in Les Dogues’ machine, as he made 84 appearances, primarily in defensive, central, and attacking midfield, in which he racked up 21 goals and assists. Unsurprisingly, the 24-year-old has been just as important this season.
He has already made four appearances in the league and Champions League qualifiers, in addition to his two England caps, and while he couldn’t get into United’s team four years ago, he certainly looks like he would today.
The bad news for the Red Devils is that they may have just sold their next Gomes as well.
Why selling Zidane Iqbal might’ve been a mistake
Yes, the former United youngster in question is Zidaen Iqbal, who was sold to FC Utrecht in June 2023 for a fee believed to be just £850k.
Now, he’s certainly not a household name, but Iqbal was a player who looked very promising during Ten Hag’s first preseason campaign with the club, and while you cannot fully judge a player off of how they perform in friendlies, the signs were positive, with BBC Sport journalist Simon Stone describing his performances as “so impressive.”
The then 19-year-old also impressed Sky Sports reporter Melissa Reddy, who described the midfielder as possessing “heaps of technical quality, skill and intelligence” and that he’s the sort of player who “demands the ball, moves, scans, never hides and is not scared of making a mistake” – in short, he was looking like an excellent prospect.
If that is not enough, then you should listen to what talent scout Jacek Kulig had to say about the Manchester-born gem, as he described him as a “roaming playmaker” and compared him to the incredibly gifted De Jong, which, based on his position and the way others had spoken about him at the time, makes sense.
Moreover, like the Dutchman, the former Red Devil stands at 5 foot 11, and while that’s not short, he’s not a midfield destroyer.
Lastly, while he wasn’t quite able to break into the first team, he was a star of the youth sides and made 35 appearances for the U23s despite leaving the club when he was just 20.
Ultimately, letting Iqbal leave last summer was probably the right thing to do for his development, as when fit, he played for Utrecht last season, but with how Gomes has progressed in Portugal and France and the pair’s positional similarities, it’s hard not to look at the Iraqi international and see him developing into a player United should have kept on the books.
