Blood will tell. Kai Rooney (16), the eldest son of Manchester United's (hereafter Man United) eternal "legend" Wayne Rooney, showed his potential by recording a neat assist in his return match for the U-18 team.
Man United U-18s displayed overwhelming firepower in a 6-1 rout against Derby County in a U-18 Premier League Northern Division match at the Carrington training ground in England on the 25th (KST). With this victory, Man United closed to within 1 point of leader Manchester City, igniting the fight for youth league supremacy.
According to Britain's The Sun, the biggest talking point of the match was undoubtedly Kai Rooney's return. Having shown outstanding ability with the under-16s and been promoted early, Kai came on as a substitute for Louis Bradbury in the 25th minute of the second half to make his U-18 debut.
In the stands, father Wayne Rooney watched his son's match alongside his close friend Jon O'Shea, sipping a warm drink as he closely observed every move of his son.
Kai made his presence felt immediately after coming on. In the late stages of the second half, he provided a classy pass to assist Noah Azai's goal, registering an attacking point in his return. Azai received Kai's pass, used brilliant individual skill to shake off defenders, and hit the net. Just before the final whistle, JJ Gabriel also created a perfect scoring chance for Kai, but unfortunately it did not lead to a goal.
Kai Rooney is already a highly regarded prospect within the club. Earlier this month in the Premier Cup semi-final against Norwich City U-16s, he produced a remarkable performance by scoring four goals on his own to drive the team to a 6-4 victory.
Of course, there were stars who shone as much as Kai in this match. JJ Gabriel, the 15-year-old prodigious forward currently attracting the most attention at the Man United academy, scored twice again to extend an astonishing scoring run of six goals in his last four matches and 16 goals for the season.
Also contributing to the team's win were winger Noah Azai, born in Hamburg, Germany, and striker Louis Bradbury, who both notched multi-goal performances.
Especially the 17-year-old left winger Azai was recognized for his potential early on; in November last year he was called up to first-team training under manager Ruben Amorim.
The match was attended by many figures from the football world, including Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick and Jonathan Woodgate, who watched Gabriel, Azai and Kai Rooney's performances closely.
Kai Rooney quietly follows in the footsteps of his father, the club's all-time leading scorer. With clever play and selfless moments reminiscent of his father's prime, Man United fans once again look forward to the day the name "Rooney" will be displayed on the Old Trafford scoreboard.
[photo] Rooney SNS.
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