The midfielder has taken the scenic route to international recognition after being given scant opportunities by his boyhood club

March 2017, Manchester Derby day. The game may have between the the two rivals' Under-18s teams and not the seniors, but two future England internationals were in action. A 16-year-old Phil Foden set up Manchester City's first goal in a 2-2 draw, while United's opener was scored by Angel Gomes, also 16. Watching on from the sidelines was Lee Carsley, then City's U18s coach, and he was thoroughly impressed with the two midfielders.

"He was as good in the same level as Phil that day, it was an excellent technique and standard and level of game," England's now-interim boss recalled last week. Foden and Gomes knew each other well already and later that year would combine in spectacular fashion to lead England to win the U17 World Cup in India, beating Brazil 3-1 in the semi-finals before thrashing Spain 5-2 in the final.

The squad, coached by current Leicester City boss Steve Cooper, was crammed with other future stars such as Marc Guehi, Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Emile Smith Rowe, Morgan Gibbs-White and Conor Gallagher. Foden has since become the biggest success story, though, having won six Premier League titles with City among a ridiculously long list of trophies and individual awards.

Gomes, however, never got a chance to prove himself at United. Despite becoming the Red Devils' youngest debutant for 64 years in 2017, he left the club in 2020 to join Lille, having made just 10 senior appearances, most of which had been as a substitute.

Now, however, he is back alongside Foden, as well as Gallagher, Guehi and close friend Gibbs-White in an England squad coached by Carsley. And if Carsley ends up becoming Gareth Southgate's permanent successor, then Gomes is likely to play a crucial role in the England team for years to come, as well as further embarrass United for letting him slip from their grasp.

Getty ImagesDifferent route

Gomes was a crucial part of Carsley's U21s side which won the European Championship in 2023, so it was logical that he would be promoted to the senior squad at some stage after being on the standby list for Southgate's Euro 2024 squad this past summer.

Adam Wharton was picked ahead of him but played no minutes in the tournament, and the Crystal Palace man's lack of opportunities proved to be a debating topic as England struggled to control matches even as they reached the final, with Gary Neville identifying their weakness in midfield as a major problem. Gomes could have helped them in Germany, and his absence from the senior squad had bemused Carsley.

"I’m not sure why he’s not been included previously. I wouldn’t know. I know that the senior staff have watched him and how impressed they were with him from the summer he had with us,” the interim coach said. "Angel's different to what we've got in terms of a player who can play deeper, but play like a 10. He's very skilful, the way he can receive balls, the way he can control games.

"He’s a player that we’re probably not used to seeing in terms of that kind of player. But yet when we watched a Portugal team or a Spain team: 'Ah, I really like that No.10, I really like him.' We've got players like that within our pathway that need a chance. Angel has had to go to another country to get that. He was such a talent, they had such high hopes for him at Manchester United. He’s just had to find a different route to get to where he is. I expect him to go from strength to strength."

AdvertisementGettyDestined for United

As United were sliced apart in midfield by Liverpool last Sunday, with Casemiro giving the ball away repeatedly with big consequences, it is tempting to wonder how much better shape they could be in had they given the player they had "such high hopes for" a proper chance.

Gomes seemed destined to play for United. The Red Devils' Champions League-winning winger Nani is his godfather, while Carlos Quieroz, Sir Alex Ferguson's trusted assistant coach, is a close family friend. Gomes' footballer father ended his career at Salford City, the club later bought by the Class of '92, and young Angel moved with him, joining United's academy at the age of six.

There is a photograph of Gomes with Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo taken at the club's training academy, and when he was in the U12s side, he roomed with Marcus Rashford. In May 2017, he won the prestigious Jimmy Murphy Player of the Year award for the club's best academy talent, with previous winners including Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil Neville, Wes Brown and Rashford, while Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo have claimed the prize in more recent times.

That same month, Gomes became United's youngest debutant since Duncan Edwards when Jose Mourinho brought him off the bench against Crystal Palace for two minutes in the final game of the season. The appearance raised his profile, but Gomes only got one more opportunity from Mourinho, another two-minute outing against Yeovil Town in the FA Cup in January 2018.

AFPFresh start

The arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as coach offered hope of more opportunities, but Gomes played a grand total of 44 Premier League minutes under the Norwegian across four matches, plus two substitute’s appearances in the domestic cups. When his contract at United ran out at the end of the 2019-20 campaign, Gomes joined Lille, turning down the offer of more money but fewer opportunities with United.

"It’s such a special club but I just wanted to be able to play and express myself,” Gomes told in 2020. “I was offered a great contract, I had all my family and friends around me, but I decided that I was willing to sacrifice that to pursue a different path. It’s hard to understand how difficult a decision that was. I could have stayed and gone out on loan, but it just felt like I needed a fresh start."

Lille's then-sporting director Luis Campos hailed Gomes as "one of the greatest European talents of today" upon signing the midfielder, only to send him out on loan to Boavista in Portugal so he could get more experience of first-team football. Gomes shone in Portugal, ending his first top-flight season with six goals and six assists.

He returned to Lille stronger and wiser, although he started only 12 Ligue 1 games in what was a difficult first season in France, the team finishing 10th after winning the title the year before. However, he thrived in his second campaign under the tutelage of Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca, who asked him to play in six positions. Gomes missed just two games in the 2022-23 season as Lille finished fifth, narrowly missing out on the Champions League.

The following season, they went one better and secured their return to Europe's top competition. Gomes played a pivotal role, finishing joint top of Ligue 1's assist charts by setting up eight goals, six of which were for top-scorer Jonathan David.

Getty Images Sport‘Difficult’ but ‘worth it’

Gomes' story has had a happy ending with him finally earning an England call-up and with Champions League football to look forward to again. He admitted, though, that it had not been an easy ride, moving from Manchester to Portugal and then to France.

"It was going into the unknown. I never knew how it was going to go and going to Lille afterwards… Learning a new language, adapting to a new country, adapting to the football… It was a very difficult time for me," he told a press conference at England's St George's Park base.

Yet he also felt a burning desire to show that he could make it away from Old Trafford, and become a better all-round footballer in the process. "Leaving England gave me a big motivation. There were also players that I played with in France that were going to their national teams. It gave me the motivation to know that just because I’m playing in a different league, I can still get to where I want to get to," he added.

"When I left [United], it was to better myself as a player and as a person through a journey, and I knew eventually that I’d be able to create a pathway. It’s been an upwards trajectory [since Boavista], also with a lot of difficult moments. But being in this position now makes everything worth it."