'I was tipped to be Man Utd great – I've now been without a club for 12 months'
A big future was predicted when Tyler Blackett emerged onto the senior Manchester United stage under Louis van Gaal, but his career looks to have come to a premature end
A little over a decade ago, a fresh-faced Tyler Blackett stepped onto the Old Trafford pitch for his Manchester United debut. At 31, the central defender now finds himself at a crossroads - clubless and without a competitive game in over a year since Rotherham United released him at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Once hailed as a future Red Devils defensive cornerstone, Blackett forged a solid Championship career after failing to make the grade at United. But his current limbo paints a stark contrast to the promise of his youth.
"How I've been? Okay," Blackett told Flashscore earlier this year. "It's not been easy by any means, it's something which I've not had to deal with in my career before. Some days better than others.
"But I'm just getting through - staying fit and training. Just keeping on top of things and doing what I can do to be ready when the right opportunity comes. It's about waiting for the right fit now."
Blackett's journey began at eight when he joined United, his boyhood club, dreaming of emulating defensive titans Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. He rose swiftly through the academy, his blend of physicality and composure catching the eye.
In 2014, with Ferdinand and Vidic both departing, a door cracked open. New manager Louis van Gaal, impressed by Blackett's pre-season showings, fast-tracked him to the senior squad.
"Van Gaal was great for me," Blackett said. "He obviously had trust in young players and gave you that confidence by giving those outlines and what he expected from you.
"That's what you had to focus on, and that helped me at that time. He was a manager who gave me an opportunity, and I have always praised him and thanked him for that."
Blackett made 12 senior appearances in Van Gaal's first season, showing flashes of his potential. In 2015, when he signed a new contract, Van Gaal doubled down on his belief.
'Tyler has great potential and I believe he is at the right club to continue his development and progression to become a great defender,' the Dutchman said. The words carried weight, fuelling optimism that Blackett could be United's next homegrown star.
A loan move to Celtic was sorted the following season, with hopes Blackett could get some high-level, regular football under his belt, before coming back to fight for a place in United's starting XI. Instead, the move backfired.
Blackett languished on the bench or was used out of position at left-back, sapping his confidence and rhythm. He returned to Manchester a shadow of the player who'd left.
The arrival of Jose Mourinho in 2016 sealed Blackett's fate. Unlike Van Gaal, Mourinho showed little faith in the young defender, allowing him to join Reading without a single sniff of first-team action. Blackett's United dream was over.
It was in Berkshire, as well as during later stints at Nottingham Forest and in the MLS with FC Cincinnati, that he showed glimpses of his old promise, albeit largely struggling for consistency once again.
In 2023, Blackett signed with Rotherham. He made 23 appearances in the 2023/24 season, offering stability to a side battling relegation. But the Millers' struggles culminated in a drop to League One, and Blackett was released, leaving him without a club for the first time in his professional career.
His time in Yorkshire, while steady, underscored a career that never quite recaptured the heights of his United days. Under Van Gaal, he stood on the cusp of greatness - a homegrown talent with the tools to succeed at the highest level. But football is unforgiving.
Loans that falter, managerial changes, and fleeting confidence can derail even the brightest prospects. Blackett's 12 appearances for United remain a fleeting highlight in a career that, while respectable, never matched the lofty expectations set in 2014. As he trains alone, awaiting the 'right fit,' Blackett's story serves as a poignant reminder of how fine the margins are in the beautiful game.
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