Manchester United prodigy Tahith Chong was tipped for big things when he signed for the club from Feyenoord as a teenager - but the Dutchman is now reportedly in talks to re-join his former club.
Chong joined Feyenoord at the age of 10 before he was lured to England by United, but the 22-year-old now looks set to depart Old Trafford after failing to live up to expectations. Chong has made a handful of senior appearances for United since he was handed his debut by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in an FA Cup clash with Reading back in January 2019, but he spent last year on loan at Birmingham City and seemingly has no future under new boss Erik ten Hag.
And according to 1908.nl, the attacking midfielder is now being lined up for a return to Feyenoord - over six years after he quit the Dutch giants. Expectations were high for the youngster - who had his contract extended for a year back in April - prior to his arrival at United and former academy coach Ian Blackmore even claimed that Chong had the potential to become the 'next Ryan Giggs '.
Blackmore told The Manchester Evening News back in 2018: "The second I saw him I said, 'We have got to get him'. The closest player I've seen to filling Ryan Giggs' boots was Angel Di Maria but Mr Van Gaal did not play him in the right position.
"He [Chong] could be the next one. He's playing on the wing, looking really good running with the ball as well like Ryan. He's done well since coming back from injury. He can go the distance. There are lots of pitfalls - keeping away from injury, not getting dragged down by the wrong people, knuckling down. He's come back from a really bad knee injury and the club have to look after him."
Despite Blackmore's praise, Chong has failed to make an impression in the senior ranks. The youngster has made just 16 appearances in the first-team and is now closing in on a permanent exit after spending the majority of his time at the club out on loan.
Join the debate! Do you think Chong is good enough to play a part at Man Utd under Ten Hag? Let us know here.
After being highlighted as somebody who could possibly emulate Giggs - who is an Old Trafford icon who racked up over 960 games and 168 goals for the club - Chong admitted back in 2020 that the Welsh wizard was his idol growing up.
"When I was young, it helped that on a typical school day, your classes would finish around midday and you’d be done for the day," Chong told manutd.com. "I would go back and do my homework. Quick, quick, quick. Then I could go out into the back garden to play football. Just me, by myself, pretending to be players and saying things like: 'It’s Giggs on the ball.' I loved it.
"There were loads of big players at the time but Giggsy was definitely the one who comes to mind straight away. It was just a fun thing to do as a kid. I would see them on the TV and try to copy their skills. It was really cool.
"Of course, I watched United. They’re a big club and the big games would be on TV. It’s crazy to think back, in the day, when I was playing on the Xbox and I would pick United a lot of the time. They had Ronaldo and Rooney. A good team. I’d create myself as a player, bring myself on and that is just crazy when I think about it now."
