Manchester United started off their pre-season with a defeat against Rosenborg in Norway in an intense game that saw many players get 45 minutes under their belt.
Radek Vitek stole the show and was the top performer on the night, but the Norwegians effectively won it with the last kick of the game.
While it would generally be too soon to make assumptions based on the first pre-season when half of the squad hasn’t even returned, one message was loud and clear.
Erik ten Hag made his intentions with Toby Collyer clear with a big statement of intent and the youngster answered his manager’s call with a fighting display.
Erik ten Hag’s huge Toby Collyer call
After the first-half team, which had a sprinkling of youngsters with first-team stars came off at half-time, the second half was a pure youth team.
However, it still had experienced players like Joe Hugill and internationals like James Scanlon on the list so Ten Hag’s decision to make Collyer the captain was a big one.
Stationed as the No. 6 and tasked to dictate the play from the position, the midfielder was all-action as Rosenborg piled on the pressure.
He always showed for the ball, directed his teammates on where they should station themselves in and out of position, and didn’t shy away from getting stuck in.
The result was a game in which he was a remarkable recovery machine out of possession as he didn’t get the chance to dominate proceedings against a rampant Rosenborg side.
He finished the game with seven recoveries, the most of any outfield player on either side as he leveraged his sense of positioning and physicality to win the ball back. (Stats courtesy of FotMob).
He also had one interception, one clearance, and and managed to win five out of seven duels in a game where United needed all of that grit and courage.
Ten Hag challenged the youngster to play in tough circumstances against a fit opposition and Collyer answered the call in remarkable fashion.
Another bow to his game
Collyer didn’t manage to do much in possession as United rarely had the ball in the first place. Therefore, he arguably made an appearance in the most challenging circumstances.
Ten Hag has already stressed previously, especially in Alejandro Garnacho’s case, that he values hard work off the ball and defensive discipline over any skill for youngsters breaking through.
In that sense, Collyer had the perfect opportunity to show that facet of his game which he passed with flying colours.
He is generally regarded as a player who’s safe in possession and likes to keep things ticking from deep but challenged to fight and do the “dirty” defensive work on priority today, he added another bow to his game.
He certainly hasn’t done any harm to his chances of getting more consistent senior team minutes.