Manchester United have ‘next Martin Odegaard’ and he’s following David Beckham’s iconic trend
What Manchester United would do to have a player like David Beckham back among their ranks - and one youngster is trying to follow in his footsteps.
Erik ten Hag has had a difficult campaign this season, coming under immense pressure after a series of poor results as well as contending with an injury crisis.
The latest players to spend a stint on the sidelines include Rasmus Hojlund and Christian Eriksen, adding to a list that includes Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, Jonny Evans and Tyrell Malacia.
It means that the United boss might have to trust his youngsters more - and one could be ready to make the step up.
While there have already been appearances for Hannibal Mejbri and Dan Gore, it's Isak Hansen-Aaroen who could be next to make a stamp on the first-team squad.
The Norwegian has drawn comparisons to compatriot Martin Odegaard for his silky skills and artistic creativity, even stunning Ten Hag in pre-season.
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Footage of the 19-year-old playing this season has gone viral among United fans, including a display against Copenhagen's Under-19s in the UEFA Youth League.
One fan responded: "Isak Hansen Aaroen he ain't at Zidane level but he's the next Odegaard."
Another wrote: "We have somebody like Odegaard at united and he isn’t getting any minutes. Isak Hansen Aaroen is a beautiful player."
A third put: "Isak Hansen-Aaroen, Norway's biggest talent since Odegaard and Haaland."
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What also caught the eye was his long blonde hair, or lack of it, possibly sacrified to help his vision as his mophead might have impaired him.
In pre-season, the Tromso-born ace sported long blonde hair, something that Beckham once also had as he came up through the ranks at Old Trafford.
And also much like the United legend in the early 2000s, Hansen-Aaroen has gone brave and sheared off his luscious locks in favour of the buzzcut.
It was the same look that Becks went for, shaving his blonde hair off to the skull, much to the amazement of fans, players and paparazzi.
But if Hansen-Aaroen can follow in the footsteps of the England icon on the pitch as well as in the barbers, then United fans can look forward to another bright star coming up through their academy.
In a pre-season friendly against Leeds, Ten Hag was blown away by the teenager as he provided an assist, saying in July: "He did well, making a good pass for the first goal.
"He's really comfortable on the ball; he has good vision and good scanning. Of course, he's a young player, he has some deficits he needs to work on, which we will show him and tell him (about).
"And we will work with him, to improve him. I can't tell you now whether he will play the rest of the pre-season with us.
"We are one week away (from the US tour) and other young kids are doing very well, so I'm really pleased with our first week of work."