Manchester United u18s keeper Cameron Byrne-Hughes gets rare chance to play outfield – Man United News And Transfer News

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There were incredible scenes at Carrington on Saturday as Manchester United u18s’ substitute keeper Cameron Byrne-Hughes was subbed on to play outfield.

The 16-year-old’s debut for Manchester United’s u18s will go down as a special occasion as it came on the left wing rather than in goal.

With United leading 3-0 over Middlesbrough, Adam Lawrence had already introduced his four outfield substitutes leaving only Byrne-Hughes on the bench when injury struck both Jack Kingdon and Ashton Missin.

Following Kingdon departing with a shoulder injury, Byrne-Hughes was seen delightedly changing to an outfielder kit on the sideline but his introduction was delayed as Lawrence initially opted to allow his side to see out the match with only 10 men.

But with the additional injury to Missin, Lawrence was forced to pull the trigger and hand Byrne-Hughes his debut in the final five minutes.

The natural keeper got straight into the action with a dribbling run down the left wing before slowing down the play and retaining possession with a simple pass.

With only eight natural outfielders on the pitch, United sat back for the dying stages of the match and held onto their clean sheet in a convincing victory that leaves them undefeated in the league.

The sight of a keeper playing outfield is an unimaginably rare occurrence, with the Premier League only ever having had one such occasion.

Famously known, former England international keeper David James was once pulled from goal to move up to play striker for United’s rivals Manchester City in a match coincidentally also against Middlesbrough.

In the last match of the 2004/05 season, manager Stuart Pearce crazily rolled the dice by subbing in substitute keeper Nicky Weaver and moving David James to striker despite having a natural striker on the bench in Jon Macken.

The move ultimately didn’t work out and Manchester City drew the match 1-1, failing to qualify for Europe.

Closer to home, United fans will remember Fabian Barthez’s love for venturing upfield.

In 2001, Alex Ferguson decided to give the French keeper his chance to impress outfield during the club’s pre-season tour of Asia.

Barthez replaced Ruud van Nistelrooy for the final minutes and dazzled the crowd with a quick nutmeg after his first touch.

🔴🧤 #OnThisDay in 2001: French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez came off the bench for Man Utd while they were winning 7-1, to fill in as a winger…

Lovely nutmeg to be fair!#MUFC | @TheUnitedLink pic.twitter.com/gaJcnnsmqO

— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) July 24, 2021

Looking further back, United keeper Ray Wood was knocked unconscious and suffered a broken cheekbone in an early collision in the 1957 FA Cup Final. In a time without substitutes, half-back Jackie Blanchflower moved to goal and remarkably despite his injuries Wood later returned to the pitch to play as a winger, although is said to have made little impact understandably.

Joining an illustrious crowd, Byrne-Hughes will be hoping to follow the career trajectory of Barthez and Wood by lifting the Premier League trophy with United.