Manchester United youngster has staked his claim as the future of the Red Devil‘s midfield after a pair of highlighting performances in the pre-season tour.
Being the son of Robbie Savage, expectations were high and rather specific for the young Welshman. The midfielder is expected to be like his father – a boisterous, energetic midfielder who is mean in the tackle and a destroyer in the middle.
However, he is anything but. He plays in the centre of midfield but in the past two games has shown United fans that he is nothing like his dad. He shows class and patience in the middle, keeping a cool head in even the most stressful of situation.
He struck a composed figure in his most recent game for Manchester United, against Melbourne Victory in Australia. Partnering fellow youngster Zidane Iqbal (who despite sharing a name with the Real Madrid legend, does not have a footballing dad like Charlie Savage) in midfield, Savage impressed against admittedly lower quality opposition.
His passing was composed and he had a brilliant left foot that kept the ball well and could pick out a pass when needed. He rarely lost possession and regained it just as well, completing a number of tackles to win back possession for Manchester United.
His short passing was excellent, although a few wayward balls can be attributed to nerves and inexperience on his part. Tidy balls in the middle of the part were part of his forte in the Under-21s. The 6 foot tall midfielder played well in front of the defence, dropping deep to collect the ball multiple times before progressing up the field.
It wasn’t just short passing in which he showcased his skills. A number of time he found forwards Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Donny Van De Beek with long balls forward, showcasing a peach of a left foot with incredible accuracy.
He drew comparison’s with Manchester United legend Michael Carrick, although he also showed glimpses of a later-career Paul Scholes with his passing range. He will have to improve a lot before he can reach the levels of those two, although he shows great potential to be the future of Manchester United’s midfield.
Former Manchester United legends have had great things to say about Charlie Savage. Former captain and England star Bryan Robson claimed that “I’ve been really impressed with Charlie Savage,”, which is huge praise that the young Savage will needs to not let get to his head and he tries to break in a long-criticised Man United midfield.
Father Robbie Savage also praised son Charlie on his performance, tweeting out “So so proud @charliesavage84 , thought you were terrific, a Maradona turn on edge of your own box”
Despite never making it at Manchester United, Robbie Savage carved himself out a good career as a Premier League footballer. He himself admitted to never being the best technical footballer but it looks like Charlie Savage has the natural talent that Robbie Savage may not have had in his career.
Charlie Savage has impressed in his appearances so far, but breaking into the Manchester United first team will be a huge task despite the clear talent he possesses.
James Garner, who spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest, was injured for the matches against Liverpool and Melbourne. He excelled last season and was one of the best players in the Championship as he helped Forest achieve promotion to the Premier League for the first time in decades.
Garner is next in line for the academy graduates to break into the first team, with Scott McTominy and Fred holding the position as their own last season. With the addition of Christian Eriksen and the rumoured signing of Frenkie De Jong, the path to the first team is increasingly crowded.
While a completely different player to his father, Charlie Savage has the ability to excel at Manchester United. However, only time will tell whether he has the drive to succeed with United or moves in like fellow outstand academy graduated like Ravel Morrison, Federico Macheda and Robbie Savage himself.
