Toby Collyer is one of the brightest prospects in Manchester United’s academy (Picture: Getty Images)
Toby Collyer wants more opportunities in the Manchester United first team after starting in a friendly defeat to Arsenal on Sunday in California.
The 20-year-old has been a regular in Erik ten Hag’s team so far in pre-season, coming off the bench in the first friendly against Rosenborg and then starting against Rangers and the Gunners.
The midfielder arrived from Brighton in 2022 and is clearly working his way towards Ten Hag’s plans, hoping that there are more opportunities to come in the near future.
‘It’s really, really, really valuable,’ Collyer said of playing in the friendlies so far this summer.
‘I think that’s what everyone wants to do. Everyone wants to be able to play in the first team. So I think getting experiences like this in a stadium like this as well, it’s the top level, and obviously the opposition [was top level] as well today.
‘So I’m taking everything step by step and hopefully I’ll get many more opportunities to show what I can do.’
The Red Devils were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal in Inglewood, taking the lead through Rasmus Hojlund before Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli secured a win for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Collyer played the first half as Manchester United were beaten by Arsenal (Picture: Getty Images)
Collyer was happy enough with his own performance, which only lasted 45 minutes, but admitted it was hard work against the Gunners.
‘It was a tough game, but I thought we did well as a team,’ he said. ‘We did some good things, and [there are] some things to improve, but I thought we had the right attitude and we tried to do the best with what the manager was telling us to do.
‘Was I pleased with how I played? Yeah, I thought I had an okay game. I thought there was a lot of things I could have done better, but it’s great to experience a game like today and I can take it into the next game, and even into training tomorrow.’
The youngster has been especially pleased to line-up alongside Casemiro in the recent friendlies, learning as much as possible from the Brazilian.
;It’s so valuable [to play next to him],’ he said. ‘He’s one of the best ever in that position, so it’s great for someone like myself to learn off him, even just to watch him in training and have him next to me, always talking to me and helping me out, as well as the other lads as well. He’s a real leader in the team.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Manchester United news, exclusives and analysis
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.