Angel Gomes was on the brink of tears when Jose Mourinho informed him he wasn't up to Manchester United's standards, but he is now tipped to make a remarkable return. Despite joining the Red Devils at the six and rising through the Carrington ranks, Gomes failed to secure a regular starting XI spot and was let go by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, subsequently signing for Lille in 2020.
However, a quick loan move to Boavista revitalised his slashed confidence, and after returning to the French side a year later, Gomes' decision to leave England has paid off handsomely - Lee Carsley even gave the England U21 star his first team debut in September.
Now, nearly five years after leaving, 24-year-old Gomes is rumoured to be in line for a surprise return to Manchester, with new manager Ruben Amorim reportedly keen.
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According to The Sun, Lille's Gomes, whose contract expires at the end of this season and therefore wouldn't command a high fee, is now a major target for United and has long been admired by newcomer Amorim.
If Gomes does make a comeback to the Red Devils' midfield, it would mark the continuation of a journey that began in his childhood and make up for the disappointment he felt when his contract was not renewed in 2020. Speaking to The Times, Gomes revealed the difficulties of being told he wasn't good enough for United and Mourinho's harsh dismissal of him.
"He didn't think I had played up to standard [in a reserves match] to warrant a place in the first-team squad, and he just really let me know," Gomes began. "At the time, I was thinking, 'Why has he done that in front of everyone? Could he not have pulled me to the side?'
"A few of the players came up to me and said, 'He just wants a reaction from you, don't let it faze you', but in that moment I didn't want to hear anything. I rushed to my room and rang my dad and my brother. There's not much they could say to me really. I was almost crying. I was really young.
"It wasn't until I was older that I realised, with Mourinho, he's always looking at ways to get more out of you. I think him doing that in front of everyone showed he valued me as a player. I probably needed it."
Discussing his departure from United, that could be redeemed should he stage a comeback, Gomes described it as the most challenging time in his young career: "It was the most difficult period of my career. On the pitch, off the pitch, I didn't know what was going on. I spoke to [Solskjaer].
"I spoke to the assistants as well because [assistant manager] Kieran McKenna had been my under-18s coach. It just felt like they wanted me to stay and go with the flow. They wanted me to go on loan but there wasn't really much in place.
"I felt that after being there my whole life in the academy, there would have been more of a plan for me to progress. That was the hardest pill to swallow."
