Obscure transfer rule prevents Manchester United from debuting under-21 star amid injury crisis
Manchester United prospect Sonny Aljofree has reportedly been unable to make his first-team debut due to an obscure Premier League decision.
He First division giants They are suffering an injury crisis in defense, with Harry Maguire the only senior centre-back available.
Academy star Willy Kambwala has been his partner in United's last three games, most recently in his 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.
With Lisandro Martínez, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof out of action, Sun They report that Erik ten Hag wanted to call up U21 star Aljofree.
The 19-year-old, son of former Plymouth star Hasney, is said to have been on the bench and possibly started in the 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final victory over Liverpool.
However, Aljofree cannot be selected for United's senior team due to his joint registration agreement with National League side Altrincham.
The centre-back arrived on loan for the rest of the season in February, but can still play for his academy teams, and has made 18 appearances for United's under-21 team and was even their captain.
Aljofree is yet to feature in a senior team and will be unable to do so for the rest of the season due to this loan deal, despite not featuring at all at Altrincham.
This will be a blow to Ten Hag, who named young defenders Harry Amass and Habeeb Ogunneye on the Bournemouth bench.
Martínez and Lindelof are discarded until early May at the earliest, and United say Varane will be absent for the next few weeks.
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The club's current defensive weaknesses were made clear in Saturday's draw, when they faced at least 20 shots for the sixth consecutive league game.
United are seventh in the table but could fall further during the run inwhich would mean their worst result in the Premier League.
Ten Hag was asked about this possibility during his post-match press conference, but said: “I don't comment. I don't accept that question. That's not that important right now.”
Then he got up and continued on his way. at the exit as the pressure begins to mount once again amid a four-game winless streak.
Qualification for the Europa League or Europa Conference League is still up for grabs over their final six league matches.
United are also in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, where they will face Championship side Coventry City next Sunday afternoon, which will be broadcast live on talkSPORT.
