It was an otherwise quiet summer afternoon. I subscribed to MUTV to have a glimpse of Manchester United’s pre-season friendlies. United was up against Rosenborg. In the match, the only bright spot for the Red Devils was a 20-year-old boy with the name Toby Collyer.
Toby caught my eyes with his calm, composed, and matured display. There was energy, athleticism, and strong physicality in motion.
A few days later, Collyer started to grab more eyeballs due to his sturdy display marked with cool distribution, against SPL side Rangers. His then manager, Eric Ten Hag voiced his support and passed on whole-hearted appreciation for this former Brighton academy player — “He’s now earned an opportunity. Today, he was in the starting XI — that’s something, and we will see how we can progress.”
Collyer drew accolades from the pundits and created a good enough pre-season buzz among the Manchester United faithful. His ability to receive, control, and pass in tight areas, was remarkable for a 20-year-old who was yet to make his senior team debut.
Toby went on to feature for Manchester United a couple of times before injury ruled him out in October, prior to ETH’s departure. His brief game-time included a nice variety of competitions — PL, FA Community Shield, English League Cup, and FA Cup.
Now, Collyer, who is mostly a classic no.6 with modern features and a 21st-century-approach, is back in the mix again. He played a really crucial role in his side’s famous 10-man victory over Arsenal, last Sunday.
Playing with a man down, United looked to young Collyer to break the lines of the Arsenal attack along with helping the team in quick transitions. While coming on as a replacement of another young gun, Kobbie Mainoo, Collyer managed to keep the continuous waves of Arsenal attack at bay.
His hard work paid off, as he got another appearance from the bench against Southampton at home. Collyer again impressed with his quick passing of the ball, while being press-resistant. The young lad also managed to disrupt the Saints’ build-ups in the attacking third.
Toby’s solid performance prompted Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand to shower him with praise, “Toby Collyer was excellent when he came on. The energy levels were huge, through the roof, a testament to him.”
United captain Bruno too, extended his support and encouragement to the England U-20 international, “Really well-deserved chance kid. Keep it going.”
Even during today’s disappointing 1-3 loss against Brighton at Old Trafford, Collyer was thrown into the mix in the second half. He replaced Ugarte, in a desperate bid by Amorim to change the outcome of a game which saw a full-house at Old Trafford in remembrance of ‘King’ Denis Law.
Now, this is something very interesting from an FPL perspective. Collyer costs just £4.5m and is still not owned by anyone in FPL.
Even with only 2 pts in his kitty from two matches, young Toby can be a great differential pick. Manchester United is going through a difficult period but they have beaten teams like Arsenal and Manchester City in recent times, under Amorim.
We have now realised that Toby Collyer is ahead of veteran midfielders Eriksen and Casemiro. He may well start the next match, replacing Mainoo or Ugarte in the middle of the park. Toby has the right skillset to fit in Amorim’s system and meet the demands of his playing style.
Therefore, you can give a serious thought to the idea of signing a no.6 prodigy who goes by the name of Toby Collyer. Who knows, you may end up hitting an FPL jackpot!
