This 18-Year-Old Could be the Next Star to Break Out of the Championship

This 18-Year-Old Could be the Next Star to Break Out of the Championship

Times are bleak on the blue side of Sheffield. However, one shining spark to put a smile on most Wednesdayites’ faces is their sacred new Manchester United loanee, Harry Amass.

The 18-year-old has only featured in two games for the Owls so far but has already made some people commit the forbidden sin of falling in love with a loan player.

Amass is one of the Red Devils' most prized young talents. Now gaining some valuable second-tier experience in what remarkably is the first loan move of his career, the defender could be one of English football’s next biggest prodigies.

His Youth Academy Days

Whilst Manchester United are currently taking all the plaudits for Harry Amass’ development, it’s not exactly the Red Devils who did all the work. Amass spent seven years in the Watford youth system from 2016 to 2023, the club that helped truly lay the foundations for the exciting left back.

🚨 United have agreed the signing of England u16s left back Harry Amass from Watford. @jb_8521 pic.twitter.com/Jc8BC7IcPj

— UtdPlug (@UtdPlug) June 26, 2023

The defender started with the Hornets from age nine all the way up to 16, when he featured on the bench for the first team’s FA Cup round three fixture against Reading in 2023.

Off the back of his increasingly noteworthy rise in West London, Manchester United snapped up the youngster and integrated him into their academy system, despite rivaling interest from Chelsea and a one-year contract offer from Watford.

Amass spent the majority of the 2023/24 season within the Manchester United youth setup, punctuated with a few call-ups to first-team training sessions. Later in that season, the Red Devils put him on the bench for their match against Liverpool, though the youngster did not play.

Last term was similar for Amass, although he did manage to make five appearances in the Premier League, including four starts. All of these occurred towards the end of the season, with the first of these, against Leicester, being three days before his 18th birthday.

A Premier League debut for 18-year-old Harry Amass 💎

The left-back was introduced in the 69th minute of @ManUtd's 3-0 win pic.twitter.com/g3wwIjEKm7

— PL Youth (@PLYouth) March 16, 2025

How Is He Getting On at Sheffield Wednesday?

Harry Amass joined Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday on Deadline Day of the summer transfer window. He has since only featured in two games for the Owls but has already felt a warm welcome from most Wednesday fans.

Amass made his debut for the club in a 3-0 loss against Bristol City two weeks ago, and the wing-back didn’t exactly get off to the best start. He scored an own goal six minutes in and then was eventually subbed off with still over 20 minutes to go.

However, the 18-year-old still started the next week against Portsmouth and played fantastically. He helped Sheffield Wednesday pick up their first league win of the season, 2-0 against Pompey, and was one of the Owls’ best players.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Harry Amass (18) for @swfc vs. Portsmouth:

☑️ 90 minutes
🔀 2/2 dribbles completed
💥 8 passes into the final third
🚀 8 clearances
❌ 5 interceptions
💪 11 ball recoveries
🤼 18 defensive contributions
🤩 2-0 win away

EVERYWHERE. 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/OuA5Zp2kbG

— Football Wonderkids (@fbwonderkids) September 21, 2025

Rewarding his exceptional away performance, Amass made it into the EFL Championship Team of the Week, alongside Wednesday teammates Max Lowe and George Brown.

What Heights Can He Reach?

Of course, we can’t get ahead of ourselves; the youngster has only made six professional starts so far in his career. However, with Manchester United’s constant Premier League troubles, there is an accessible avenue for Amass to maybe capitalize on following his loan spell.

We have seen plenty of youngsters seek loan spells in the Championship before and then go on to do fantastic things, including the likes of Reece James, Mason Mount, Marc Guehi, Harry Kane, and more recently, Amad Diallo, Ben Doak, and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

In addition, the left-back market isn’t exactly saturated with options at the minute, which could offer Amass the runway he needs to take off. If he’s just 18 now and performing like this in England’s second tier, he will be an established Premier League player in no time.