What next for Man Utd’s Dan Armer after his ‘magnificent’ pre-season?

Manchester United fans noticed something familiar about Dan Armer watching his performances on last season’s run to the FA Youth Cup final.

The way he carries himself, his mannerisms and even some of his movements on and off the ball remind many of Harry Maguire.

The comparison is an obvious one for an 18-year-old centre-back at United, particularly when Maguire is one of the senior-squad colleagues he can learn from. But the number of people making it has only increased during an impressive pre-season with the first team for this 18-year-old boyhood fan of the Old Trafford club.

Armer has played 136 minutes in four games across Europe for coach Michael Carrick’s side, including the second half against Leeds on Wednesday night in front of 82,000 fans at Dublin’s Croke Park, where he was defending against experienced Premier League striker and England international Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He also featured in the friendlies against Wrexham, Rosenborg and Atletico Madrid.

Maguire himself has described Armer’s showings this summer as “magnificent”.

“I think Dan’s been brilliant,” he told club media. “Eighteen years old, playing in tough games and playing for this club for the first time. He’s been magnificent at centre-back and, hopefully, he can continue to progress, keep enjoying working with us.”

High praise, and it will be well received.

The teenage Scot would love to follow in Maguire’s footsteps and one day be a first-team regular for United, and he is striving to make that a reality. Those close to him feel like it may be 18 months to two years before he can really push for regular starts at that level, which shows there is patience — important considering his position and the players in front of him.

Armer is a left-sided centre-back and is very highly thought of at United. For now, the focus is continuing his development, with the club keen to give him a pathway but without rushing him. The first-team coaching staff — including Carrick — were regular watchers from the stands as Darren Fletcher’s under-18s went all the way to the FA Youth Cup final last season.

They were impressed by Armer, and his performances helped them decide he deserved a chance to play alongside the senior players during this summer’s pre-season preparations.

Described as being incredibly well-mannered around the training ground, he is also very self-assured about his ability but aware of the need to work hard if he is going to progress to being a first-team regular. He often picks the brains of coaches and wants to do extra video analysis of his game to make improvements.

United’s senior players such as Bruno Fernandes, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Maguire are always working with the club’s youngsters when they come to join in first-team training, and it is no different with Armer. When he gets out on the pitches at Carrington with Maguire, he is particularly looking to learn from him as a player he looks up to.

Away from United, Armer watches other players in his position to try to learn his trade. A current favourite is Barcelona and Spain’s 19-year-old star Pau Cubarsi. The Scotland youth international may not be on as fast a track to the top as Cubarsi, but his development is being progressed.

Armer now stands at well over 6ft, having gone through a growth spurt in his early teens which gave him some issues with his stride pattern for around two years but is no longer a problem.

The past 24 months have seen his performances for the academy sides steadily improve.

For this upcoming season, he is expected to feature predominantly for the under-21s after turning out for them and the under-18s last time, but he will also be part of a group of young players who will be called up often to participate in first-team training when required or when it is felt they will benefit from it.

If a loan offer were to arrive, it may be considered if deemed suitable for his development, but the plan is for him to remain at United for now.

Adam Lawrence is currently working as under-21s manager and is a big admirer. United have yet to confirm a new deal for Lawrence, but it is expected he will stay in the role for the season ahead.

Recently, United announced nine academy players had signed their first professional contracts and there was some confusion as to why Armer was not on that list. However, The Athletic has been told he actually signed his pro papers last year.

There is currently a real optimism among United’s academy players that there is a proper path to the first team under Carrick’s coaching setup, and they feel if they impress they will get a chance.

Armer has really enjoyed his spell with the first team this summer and, in particular, going up against Calvert-Lewin last week when Leeds were eventually beaten on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

It may have been another warm-up game for the season, but given the size of the crowd in Dublin and coming off the bench at half-time to face a striker who has played at the top level with Everton and Leeds for a decade now and made 12 England appearances, Armer impressed.

It was another display that reflected the qualities he has shown for United’s academy sides. He was assured on the ball, happy to move it forward in possession and sharp defensively, covering back to block Calvert-Lewin at one stage as the striker threatened to get in behind.

Armer has also mixed well with first-team players at training throughout the pre-season. Yet there is still a realism that there is a big step from pre-season friendlies to playing regular Premier League football. Armer’s ambition is to get to the game’s highest level, and preferably to do so with United.

This summer has been an important step along that path and a real learning opportunity. Now he will look to build on it.