Tom Heaton believes things are “looking rosy” at Manchester United this season and beyond, praising the new coaching set-up and young talents he requested to play with in Tuesday’s EFL Trophy opener.
Fiercely ambitious Ineos has made widespread changes since taking charge of football operations earlier this year after Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a stake in the Premier League giants.
United are work in progress but things appear to be heading in the right direction at both first-team and development levels – something Heaton is uniquely placed to assess.
The academy product turned England international returned to Old Trafford in 2021 as and got a first-hand look at their up-and-coming talents when playing in the under-21s’ comeback win at Barnsley on Tuesday evening.
Put to Heaton that things were looking bright for Erik ten Hag’s team and the academy, he told the PA news agency: “It certainly feels that way.
“It’s important we kick on from it and keep that going. It’s the constant cycle and you can’t come off that for one minute.
“I think there’s some real good learning in there for the younger lads tonight about what the levels are. Barnsley are a League One club and were strong in the first half.
“It’s a good marker for them, but they’ve managed to show some resilience, show some quality, come back in the game and win it. I think everything’s looking rosy through the club at the minute.”
Heaton enjoyed his 90-minute run-out in Barnsley, which marked quite the change in surroundings to Berlin five weeks earlier at the Euro 2024 final.
The 38-year-old worked as a training goalkeeper with England throughout the summer and wanted to fine-tune after two pre-season friendly appearances.
“I requested to play – I requested to the manager if he’d let me play in it,” Heaton said, having admitted “last season I went too long without playing”.
“I want to put myself in the mix so that, as and when required, I’m bang up to speed and bang ready.
“I think it’s important that I maintain nights like this through the season for if and when the opportunity comes.”
Heaton was the biggest name at Oakwell but Jack Fletcher – the 17-year-old son of former midfielder Darren – took the headlines with an outrageous equaliser off the bench before firing United to victory.
“I played with Fletch for a long time,” Heaton said. “I started with Fletch from sort of 14, 15, so I had a long relationship with him, long time playing with him.
“So, to play with his lad Jack tonight – both of his lads (Jack and Tyler), actually, at certain points – is a bit surreal. But I think he’s got fantastic potential, a fantastic attitude. The two of them are real good lads.
“It is a big night for him. To come on and deliver that, what he did, made a big impact on the game.
“He’s certainly the stand-out performer from tonight, and hopefully that will give him a real good foundation to kick on from. But there’s some real good performances in there beyond that as well.”
Fletcher Sr was at Oakwell and is part of Ten Hag’s new-look backroom team, which includes another of Heaton’s former team-mates, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and a new goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar.
“Obviously the coaching staff that have gone out the building were all fantastic in their own right,” Heaton added. “Richard Hartis, the goalkeeper coach, who I have a brilliant relationship with, known him for a long time, was superb.
“But the club and the manager decided to make a change, so Jelle’s come in with different ideas and I’m really enjoying working with him at the minute.
“A lot of thinking behind his training sessions, making the goalkeepers… really stressing their thinking and understanding the in-possession tactical stuff.
“It’s been really good so far. Real good guy, really enjoyed working with him, and that goes for the rest of the coaching staff that have come in.
“Ruud, I obviously played with when I was a kid, and Rene (Hake) and Andreas (Georgson). It’s sort of a fresh look.”
Meanwhile, United winger Facundo Pellistri has joined Panathinaikos for 6million euros (£5.1m) rising to a possible 8m euros (£6.8m).
PA understands United have a buy-back clause for the next three years and there is a 45 per cent sell-on fee.