Chong gets Manchester United’s first goal of pre-season… but why did he play ahead of his loan?

Pre-season is always a strange time and it serves football fans with reminders of players that their clubs have but who have been out on loan at one club or another, while also opening the door of the first team to academy graduates as well.

Whether it’s Davide Zappacosta lining up for Chelsea or one of Real Madrid’s countless loanees arriving at Valdebebas again, there is almost too much to keep up with at times.

The same can be said of the youngsters and a lot of the time their appearances in the summer fixtures are futile. That appears to be the case with Manchester United’s Tahith Chong.

Chong scored Manchester United’s first goal

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side played their first pre-season game of the summer away at Wayne Rooney’s Derby County on Sunday afternoon, and Chong got the game’s opening goal.

Coming in from the right, an attempted chip over Derby goalkeeper Kelle Roos didn’t quite go to plan but fell at the winger’s feet and he was able to tap into an open goal.

A questionable selection

While fans might have been pleased to see the 21-year-old score, his very selection in the XI raised questions.

Manchester United’s XI consisted of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Juan Mata, Mason Greenwood and then peripheral players, few of whom are likely to enjoy many minutes during 2021/22.

But Chong, in particular, already has his future settled and will be joining Birmingham City on loan imminently.

Half time sparked changes, as Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic and Alex Telles became the experienced players in the XI, with plenty more youngsters coming off the bench as well.

Chong is by no means alone in being a player to feature in pre-season who might never wear the club shirt in a competitive fixture. But, even by pre-season’s standards, his inclusion on Sunday was strange.