Manchester United’s Chilean youngster is reportedly close to sealing a short term loan to the DW Stadium in a move which should benefit all parties.
Given that players with the talent of Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez struggle to get minutes at Old Trafford, it isn’t surprising that the 18 year Angelo Henriquez has yet to make an appearance for his new side. The teenagers last competitive match actually came in his debut for the Chile national team in November, a match in which he also scored his first international goal.
Clearly Henriquez was brought in as a player for the future at Manchester United, but given his talent he could be making first team appearances somewhere. United have recognised this, and have reportedly agreed a deal with Wigan for the striker to make a loan move to Roberto Martinez’s side for the second half of the season.
This looks like an excellent idea for several reasons. Whilst Henriquez won’t walk straight into the first team at Wigan there is far less competition for places up front than at United. Arouna Kone and Franco Di Santo are the only senior strikers playing regularly for Martinez’s side, although the enigmatic Mauro Boselli did make an unexpected start recently. Kone and Di Santo, whilst generally playing well, have not been prolific, and Henriquez could be a good man to bring in in that regard.
Whilst Henriquez hasn’t played at the very top level yet, he has scored plenty of goals in every team he’s played in including the various international youth levels, and at his first club Universidad de Chile. Moving up a level to play in the Premier League is a huge challenge, but Wigan are just about the best club he could start at. Martinez is a young, charismatic manager with a proven record of developing young talent into Premier League stars. He has also managed to do this during loan spells in previous years, with Ferguson no doubt hoping that Henriquez can emulate Tom Cleverley’s success after a period at Wigan.
The deal therefore makes sense for Manchester United, Wigan and Henriquez himself, and neutral fans of the league are also likely to benefit from the switch, with plenty of interest in how the Chilean wonderkid will adapt to the Premier League.
image: © markscottjohnson
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