Who is Toby Collyer? The Man Utd youngster who could feature against Crystal Palace in injury crisis

Updated: 6 May 2024 14:12 BST
4 min read

A silver lining in Manchester United’s injury problems this season has been the ability to give young players the opportunities to make their mark on the first team, with Toby Collyer expected to be the next youngster in line for a chance.

Collyer has been included in Erik ten Hag’s squad for the Premier League game against Crystal Palace, with United having no fit senior centre-back available and a host of injuries to crucial midfielders and attackers too.

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The youngster could be in line for his senior debut at Selhurst Park and will be hoping to seize his opportunity to feature in the remaining games of the season.

But just who is Collyer and how has he progressed to the United first team? FootballTransfers takes a look at United’s newest wonderkid.

What position does Toby Collyer play?

Collyer is primarily a defensive midfielder who can also fill in at centre-back, which is likely why he has been called up to the first team.

How good is Toby Collyer?

Collyer came through Brighton’s academy, making his debut with the under-18s at the tender age of 15 and establishing himself as a key player for the youth team.

Brighton finished third in the Premier League South and won the Premier League under-17s Cup, which led to Collyer making his debut for the under-23s just one week after turning 17.

READ MORE: Latest Man Utd transfer news

Part of Collyer’s rapid progression through the youth ranks is his leadership, with the youngster having captained England at under-16 and under-17 levels.

Former Brighton youth coach Mark Beard spoke of Collyer, saying: "He is a pleasure to coach. He is so low maintenance, what I mean by that is you don't know he is there. He gets on with his job.

“He regularly put in displays of 8/10 at the least. He had the best running stats, runs 13 kilometres a game, breaks things up. He is so unassuming, he gets on with his job. You want 11 of these type of players in the team.

“You know what you're going to get in training, he works hard, he wants to improve, he's intelligent. He's a good all-round kid. As defensive midfielders go, and it is quite a disciplined role, he is probably the best in the country at doing it.”

Collyer’s rise attracted the attention of United, who signed him in 2022 following a trial after he failed to agree a new contract at Brighton, becoming the one and only signing of Ralf Rangnick’s short tenure at Old Trafford.

After signing for United, Collyer featured for United’s under-21 team in Premier League 2 as well as in the EFL Trophy, which led to him being included in Ten Hag’s pre-season squad last summer.

🚨 | 20-year-old #mufc midfielder Toby Collyer is in the squad tonight. [Samuel Luckhurst, MEN] pic.twitter.com/rzxbMvmKtf
— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) May 6, 2024

Collyer played for United as they defeated Wrexham in San Diego on the club’s pre-season tour of the USA and has featured on the bench for the first team in recent matches against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup and Fulham.

Speaking about Collyer in February, Ten Hag said: "He showed some good stuff and he showed some potential. And so we have some problems. But yeah, it's, for him, an opportunity to be involved.

"He has to be ready to come on because you are on the bench to come on."

What clubs are interested in Toby Collyer?

Currently, there is no speculation over Collyer’s future or any rumours of teams trying to sign him, with the youngster only joining Man Utd two years ago.