Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Daniel Murphy

Who is Will Fish? Profile of latest Manchester United youngster called up to first-team

Will Fish is in contention to be involved in a Manchester United first-team matchday squad for the first time against Granada on Thursday.

Following the addition of young forward Anthony Elanga to the Europa League squad last week, centre-back Fish became the latest teenager to train with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side on Tuesday.

With Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay all suspended for the Europa League quarter-final second leg, and Eric Bailly unlikely to start after testing positive for Covid-19 on international duty, United are lacking cover in the heart of defence and Fish has been added to the club's B list ahead of the game.

Here is all you need to know about him...

Name: William Fish

Age: 18

Date of birth: February 17, 2003

Birthplace: Manchester

Position: Centre-back

Strongest foot: Right

Shirt number: 48

Manchester-born Fish has quickly risen through the youth ranks at Old Trafford as he captained the Under-16s and was named as part of Nicky Butt's UEFA Youth League squad when he was still a school boy.

Although he remains eligible for the Under-18s he has only made three appearances for them this season as he is instead a regular in Neil Wood's Under-23s, often captaining the side. Fish has started 17 of a possible 20 Premier League 2 matches this season, wearing the armband on seven occasions.

He also played the full 90 minutes as United's Under-21 decimated League Two outfit Salford City 6-0 in the EFL Trophy earlier this season.

The tall and physically imposing centre-back has earned plaudits for his composed defending and leadership qualities.

Fish even grabbed headlines and the attention of United supporters in November when he pulled off a remarkable hat-trick of tackles in a training match to deny a certain goal.

Playing in a small-sided game, a teammate lost the ball to Hannibal. The playmaker advanced forward, but just as he was about to shoot Fish slid across and managed to hook the ball out of his path. It went straight to another attacker who shot instantly, but Fish was there to block the powerful effort.

Again the ball fell into the path of an opposing attacker, who took a smart touch to get around the goalkeeper to give himself an empty goal to aim at. But Fish was on hand once again to make a crucial block and the ball was finally out of harm's way.

Given how often Fish has played above his age group, it's no surprise to see him gain experience with the senior side.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.