Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag decided to keep Zidane Iqbal at Old Trafford after the youngster caught the eye during pre-season.
The 19-year-old was part of the Red Devils’ squad during their pre-season tour of Asia and Australia ahead of a potential loan move away from the club. He has so far made four appearances during the summer - all coming from the bench.
However, that appears to have been enough to impress new boss Ten Hag. The Iraq international is set to continue his development at Carrington with the hope that he can add to the solitary senior appearance for the club he has made so far - that coming in a Champions League clash with Swiss side BSC Young Boys last term.
According to Mail Online, the Dutchman has decided is very keen to keep Iqbal at Old Trafford for the upcoming campaign and find him first-team minutes in which to impress.
Iqbal also penned a new long-term contract with the club last month - a deal that is set to run until the summer of 2025 with the option of a further season. Whilst the youngster has enjoyed a positive pre-season thus far, it hasn’t always gone exactly to plan.
Ten Hag was pictured having an X-rated rant at Iqbal during a training session in Australia. Taking part in a possession-based drill, he gave the ball away with the United boss then blasting his mistake as “f****** rubbish”.
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Fortunately, that does not appear to have impacted his prospects of any first-team opportunities with the latest decision having been made over his future. Iqbal will certainly hope to keep receiving opportunities ahead of the 2022/23 Premier League season getting underway.
The Red Devils have two further pre-season friendlies to navigate before getting their campaign underway against Brighton. They take on Atletico Madrid in Norway on Saturday before meeting another Spanish side in the form of Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford just a day later.
Whilst Iqbal looks set to remain at the club for the forthcoming campaign, the same cannot quite be said of fellow academy graduate Nathan Bishop. The 22-year-old goalkeeper was sent out on loan to Mansfield Town last season and played a key role as the side were defeated in the League One playoff final.
He is set to exit once more on a temporary basis with a switch to Wycombe Wanderers, as per reports. A couple of academy graduates have already exited with Dean Henderson and Alvaro Fernandez joining Nottingham Forest and Preston North End respectively on season-long loan deals.
