Manchester United's Under-21s played Sparta Prague last week and two players immediately caught the eye in the warm-up because of their stature and physique. The players were Tom Huddlestone and Teden Mengi, who both started the match.
United appointed Tom Huddlestone as their new player-coach in the academy in the summer and the innovative hybrid role has continued to prove successful following the decision to bring Paul McShane to the club as the inaugural player-coach. That was a decision that attracted ridicule but it's a forward-thinking role, which other Premier League clubs have now copied.
Liverpool 'signed' Jay Spearing in the summer and the player-coach academy role certainly has merit. Mengi was the other that stood out in the warm-up at Altrincham, although he's at the start of his career, unlike Huddlestone, who is very much at the end.
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Mengi was starting just his second game of the season after returning from injury against Sparta Prague and he finally played his first full 90 minutes of the campaign this weekend, when captaining the U21s against Tottenham in a 1-1 draw.
It was a significant moment for Mengi, who has fought to return from injury, and he celebrated the comeback on Instagram, writing: "Injury makes the comeback sweeter. First 90 mins on the pitch in eight months. Onwards and upwards."
The message was succinct, but Mengi would have slept well that night. The youngster has had the misfortune of multiple injuries already in his career and it would have given him a great deal of satisfaction to play his first 90 minutes of the season.
Mengi wore the armband against Tottenham and it's not just his stature that makes him stand out in academy matches, as he's always been a leader. He leads by example, he's vocal on the pitch and that's why he's captained his teammates in various age groups.
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The centre-back was earmarked as a leading talent in the academy from an early age and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer handed him his senior debut against LASK in the Europa League in August 2020, which was the moment he wanted to progress from.
Mengi was delighted with that progress, but football has been cruel to him since then, with the defender having to deal with multiple injuries, which saw his promising loan spell with Derby County in the Championship cut short at the end of the 2020/21 season.
Wayne Rooney, who was then in charge of Derby, said Mengi had been 'fantastic' and that he'd seen 'him grow with each game'. It was a glowing endorsement and Mengi made yet another strong impression at Birmingham City on loan last season.
The Manchester-born lad signed for Birmingham on loan in January 2022 but history repeated itself, with the loan move cut short again due to a recurring hamstring issue, which denied Mengi the opportunity to gain more first-team experience.
Although Mengi made just 10 appearances at St. Andrew's, Birmingham's manager Lee Boywer considered him 'outstanding'. Mengi returned to United for rehabilitation and he's now back to full fitness after maturely dealing with adversity again.
Mengi is an outstanding defender, he's strong in duels, not short of pace and he's impressed wherever he has played, which suggests he has a bright future and he might actually get a chance to send a reminder of his talent before the January transfer window.
Still only 20 years old, Mengi is expected to be loaned again in January, but he might have a role to play in the first-team in the coming weeks, as he is essentially the fourth-choice centre-back at Old Trafford after Raphael Varane's injury.
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United have Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire, but there are five games before the World Cup and Erik ten Hag might view the League Cup fixture against Aston Villa as an opportunity to give his usual starters a rest.
That could open the door for Mengi to play for the first-team, which would be another milestone worth celebrating for the youngster. Ten Hag has reiterated the importance of a strong squad and he would have taken notice of Mengi in training at Carrington.
It was a brilliant moment for Mengi to make his full comeback in the academy this weekend.
But it would be an even better and more special moment for him to play for the first-team again.
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