'I was nominated for Golden Boy award at Man Utd – I've now been a free agent for a year'

Once a highly-touted talent at Manchester United, Timothy Fosu-Mensah hasn't played a game of football in two years. The 27-year-old climbed the ranks of the Red Devils youth academy between 2014 and 2016, even earning a nomination for Tuttosport's Golden Boy award alongside Marcus Rashford - despite being restricted to just three starts and four substitute appearances under Jose Mourinho in his debut season.

Neither Fosu-Mensah nor Rashford clinched the title of best young player in Europe, which ultimately was awarded to Kylian Mbappe after his 15-goal and 11-assist season with Monaco. Despite being nominated for the award, which is typically a good indicator of a promising future, Fosu-Mensah's career has largely failed to meet expectations.

The defensive midfielder clocked up just 30 games in total for United during his tenure, spending loan spells with the likes of Crystal Palace and Fulham instead of carving out his path with the Red Devils. A knee ligament injury in April 2019 while on loan at Craven Cottage also kept him out for the better part of a year, further hampering opportunities to make an early impact in his career.

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Fosu-Mensah's move to Bayer Leverkusen in January 2021 for a fee rumoured to be around £1.5million was seen as a fresh start, but his hopes were dashed just a month later due to another ligament injury.

The Dutchman's time at the BayArena was plagued with knee and hamstring injuries and fitness issues, limiting him to just 30 appearances before his release last summer, reports the Manchester Evening News.

His final outing for Leverkusen was an 11-minute cameo against RB Leipzig in April 2023, and he didn't feature at all during Leverkusen's title-winning 2023/24 season. Despite this, Fosu-Mensah is optimistic about reigniting his career in 2025/26 provided he finds the right club.

Speaking to PA, he said: "Last season was the first time in my career that I've spent without a team. At this age, it's quite early and I think quite strange for people. I know I've been working hard and hard work won't go unnoticed.

"That's what I believe. If you stay at home, you do nothing and then you think, 'Boom, OK, I'm going to go this club or that club', no, that's not how it works, that's not my mentality. It's definitely a fresh start and I've been working hard."

Reflecting on his time without a club, he added: "There was a couple of situations with agents here and there, which was a bit of a mess. People were speaking on my name who I never even had contact with. I would say like 80 per cent of the agents who were approaching clubs and people I didn't even know, who I didn't even had contact with. I think that was a big mess."

There were talks of Fosu-Mensah heading to the Championship this winter, but he chose instead to train with Ajax reserves for five months with hopes of boosting his fitness. Elsewhere, Fosu-Mensah shared an enduring affection for Manchester United, saying that despite his career taking a different path from the north west.

He added: "I came there when I was 16, I left when I was 23. I've had many nice moments, won a couple of trophies, especially in my first season. We all know United, we all know the history of United, we all know what United stands for."

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